Kingdom Anime III
by JoeMavro
Summary: The inevitable clash between the Guardians of Light and the Seekers of Darkness is nearly at hand. As both sides scramble to find their final members, Sora attempts to uncover the mystery of Master Xehanort's past and hopefully discover the key to defeating him once and for all. This is a joint-effort between me and my parter, ShaD-23.
1. Mahora Academy

Sora's friends from Earthland were not the only ones who wanted to celebrate his ascension to mastery. His parents insisted on throwing him a party; nothing big, just a small party of three, which Sora could not refuse. There was a time when the world could have been ending and he would not have cared as long as he had a comfy place to lie and some grilled mahi-mahi on a skewer, but that changed the night the Heartless came. The thought of losing the raft, the thing his hopes and dreams were tied to, the thought of losing Riku…of losing Kairi…it stirred something in him. It was like his mind went into some kind of protection mode. "Papa bear mode," his dad called it. After the party, he went straight back to King Kai for advice on where to go from here.

"Right now, my boy, there's a Heartless influx in Death City. If you would, I'd like you to put a stop to it. I've sent Riku, Lea, and Kairi on similar missions already."

"K-Kairi?!" Sora blurted. "You sent her out on her own?!"

"Well, I offered to send Gohan or Krillin with her, but she insisted on going alone. Eager to prove herself, I guess. Can't really blame her."

"Well…" said Sora, putting a hand over his pounding heart. "She did beat that Luxord guy for her first big fight. I guess that's a lot tougher than beating a giant Heartless."

"Exactly!" said King Kai. "Don't worry, my boy! Kairi has everything she needs to make it out there!"

* * *

Twelve Hookbats, six Trick Ghosts, two Bookmasters, and more Shadows than even Kairi could count. Always the studious one, she got a book about the Heartless from King Kai, memorized nearly every variety of Heartless, and the recommended tactics for dealing with them, though they barely gave her time to defend herself, much less implement these tactics. Luxord was cocky, treated her like a child, and treated their fight as a game. The Heartless however, seemed to take her much more seriously. To them, she was prey…until she began slaying them with relative ease. Once they began stepping up their attacks, it was clear that they saw her as a threat. And why shouldn't they? She was the two things the Heartless feared most, a Keyblade wielder and a Princess of Heart. She'd been in these woods for a day and a half. She'd suffered eight scratches, three bites, and a burn from a Bookmaster's _Firaga_ spell. She was down to the last of the three Hi-potions King Kai gave her and had no way of knowing when the Heartless would stop appearing. From what she Sora told her, eliminating whoever was commanding the Heartless in a particular world would make them go away, but Xehanort's control over the Heartless was absolute right now, and he could have been literally anywhere. Unless someone in this world had sided with him, it looked like Kairi's job wasn't done until Xehanort was. She sat on a stump and looked to the enormous school beyond the woods. King Kai expressly told her not to draw attention to herself.

 _Maybe I could pretend to be a student and ask someone about the Heartless. If there's someone directing them to attack the school, maybe it's a disgruntled student or a teacher._ She thought. _I bet their headmaster would know, but how can I get him to tell me? I doubt he's going to want someone getting into his business, especially a "student." I guess I could tell him I'm from another school, but if he wants to know what school I'm from, then I'm in trouble!_

"Hey, you."

Kairi looked to her right and saw a girl; maybe ten or eleven years old with long silky blond hair and icy blue eyes, dressed in a white and burgundy school uniform and dark brown thigh highs. At her side was an older girl; probably in her mid teens, dressed in a black Lolita dress with pale green hair, identical blue eyes, and what looked like oversized phone antennas on the sides of her head.

"Are you that mage the headmaster sent for?" The younger girl asked. "Could have sworn he said it would be a boy."

"Uh…"

Maybe it was her icy stare or the darkness Kairi sensed from her, but something about her told Kairi it would not be smart to lie to her.

"Someone…eh…did send me here to take care of the creatures, but it wasn't the headmaster."

As the younger girl continued to stare, Kairi felt like she was being dissected. The older girl however, seemed totally impassive. Finally, the younger girl smiled and said "Good enough for me."

"You wouldn't happen to know someone who might be controlling the creatures, do you?" Kairi inquired. "Someone who has a problem with the school, maybe…a student or a…teacher?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"Afraid not." said the younger girl. "Although, that's an intriguing idea."

"What do you mean?" asked Kairi.

"Er, nothing. I'm Evangeline and this is my faithful guardian, Chachamaru. What do we call you, dear?"

 _Dear?_

It was like talking to a middle-aged woman in the body of a little girl.

"Kairi. Pleased to meat you." Kairi replied, trying her best not to let her uneasiness show.

Since you're here, would you mind accompanying us to Library Island? That seems to be where the big one was headed."

"Big one?"

When Sora recounted his time at Traverse Town and the Spirit Bathhouse, he mentioned that the Heartless disappeared from those worlds when the most powerful one was defeated.

"Lead the way, Evangeline. But let's keep my being here between us, okay?"

"If you insist."

Evangeline and Chachamaru lead Kairi across a great bridge toward an island in the middle of the enormous lake. Upon the island was a white castle-like building, which Chachamaru identified as "Library Island." A pair of Bookmasters appeared without warning and expelled fireballs at Evangeline, bet she swatted them aside like they were nothing and unleashed a torrent of ice crystals that froze the spellcasters solid.

"So, what else can that…er… _sword_ of yours do?" Evangeline asked as Kairi summoned her Destiny's Embrace and sliced her way through another drove of Shadows. The way she uttered "sword" stung just a bit, it may not have looked threatening, but it was still an effective weapon. Didn't she prove that already?

"I can use it to undo something that's locked and even cast spells," said Kairi, not wanting to reveal too much about the Keyblade. "though your spells are probably leagues ahead."

"Oh, I don't doubt that." Evangeline replied haughtily. "I've actually never heard of anyone channeling magic through a sword before. The idea sounds rather barbaric to me. What do you call that thing, anyway?"

Kairi gave an irritated twitch, this girl's attitude was trying even _her_ patience.

"It's…a trade secret." she replied through bared teeth.

Once they reached the grand library, Kairi was overwhelmed by the hundreds upon hundreds of shelves full of books that surrounded her. She would have been her Grandma's age by the time she finished reading all of them.

"Miss Kairi…Miss Kairi!"

"Huh?"

Kairi snapped to attention and turned to Chachamaru.

"The master suggests we kill some time here until the creature surfaces again."

* * *

Evangeline peered over a balcony and saw Kairi and Chachamaru engaging some of the creatures. Satisfied that they would have their hands full for a while, she paced the upper level with her face buried in the book she found. It was a book about mythical magical weapons, she was certain she had seen something resembling Kairi's sword in here before. And then she found it, a sword with a double hand guard, giving it the appearance of a key. This "Keyblade" was believed to have the power to undo nearly any lock, any enchantment, or any curse.

"Master, it is here!" Chachamaru called.

In the center of the room, Evangeline could see a massive black silhouette rising, forming into something almost human. Its flesh took on a dark purple color, its head was wrapped in slimy black tendrils, and a pair of chiropteran wings stretched out from its back.

* * *

Kairi and Chachamaru darted left and right respectively as the Dark Follower tried to seize them in its massive claws and sliced its hands off at the wrists. Chachamaru was an expert hand-to-hand combatant and didn't need anything but her own two hands even as the Follower's hands melted into a rippling black pool and a drove of Shadows burst out. She sliced and chopped her way through each Shadow as the giant regenerated its hands and conjured a wrecking ball-sized orb of dark energy. Kairi pointed the tip of her Keyblade at the deadly orb and cast _Thundaga_ , causing it to burst into useless black and red smoke. Her Keyblade reappeared in her hand and she was about to summon it again when the Dark Follower was encased in a tomb of glistening ice. Evangeline descended from the upper level, floating several feet above the ground. Without warning, she lifted her hand and sent two shining ice crystals sailing past Kairi and into the doors, covering them in a thick ice-sheet.

"What are you doing?!" Kairi demanded.

"I know what that is now," said Evangeline, pointing at Kairi's Keyblade. "and I want it!"

She waved a hand and unleashed a powerful gust of icy, snowy wind that sent Kairi into a wall.

"Evangeline, I really don't want to fight you!" said Kairi.

"Neither do I." Evangeline replied." "So, just hand over your Keyblade and you can go on your merry way."

"But why?"

"Because contrary to popular belief, we vampires are not monsters." Evangeline began to explain. "I have no reason to _—_ "

"No! I mean 'why do you want my Keyblade?!'"

"To undo the curse that was placed on me by Thousand Master! The curse that binds me to these grounds!"

She raised both of her hands and four Kairi-sized skewers of ice appeared. Kairi rolled away from the first two and shattered the remaining two with a well-timed _Reflega_. Before she could retaliate however, another mighty blast of wind swept up and into the ceiling, causing her last Hi-Potion to fall out of her pouch. Kairi grabbed a hold of a guard rail and heaved herself onto the top floor. She darted between bookcases as Evangeline fired more icy projectiles at her. She then jumped down to the bottom floor and was about to cast a _Firaga_ on the doors when she sensed darkness behind her. She flipped to her right to avoid a dark projectile hurled by Evangeline and cast _Reflega_ as she hurled another one. Evangeline's reflected spell hit her dead-center and without even thinking, Kairi hurled her Keyblade, hitting her right in the side of the face. Evangeline fell, hit the still frozen Dark Follower with a smack, and landed on the floor. After a moment, she lifted her head to glare at Kairi.

"You…you hit me!" the young vampires growled, a tear streaming down the side of her face where Kairi's Keyblade hit.

She clenched her tiny hands into fists and started breathing hard as though she were on the verge of sobbing. Kairi's sweet nature tempted her to go over to Evangeline and try to calm her down, but fear of another deadly spell kept her planted firmly where she stood.

"Chachamaru, kill this little tart!" Evangeline barked.

"Yes, Master."

Kairi's heart gave a panicked jolt as she turned to face Chachamaru, who was adopting a fighting stance.

"Dreadfully sorry, Miss Kairi." she said with clinical dispassion.

Kairi shifted, ducked, and flipped away from Chachamaru's lethal chops and thrusts, not wanting to hurt her either, but a single swipe of her Keyblade sent Chachamaru's head flying right off her shoulders. Fear gripped Kairi's heart like an icy gauntlet as the head rolled toward Evangeline. It was impulsive, instinctive, she didn't mean to do it, but she snapped out of it when she saw sparks and circuitry in Chachamaru's neck instead of flesh and blood.

"Oh, dear." said Chachamaru as Evangeline seized her head.

"Damn it all!" she growled, turning to face Kairi again. "I have to attend to Chachamaru right away, so I guess I'll let you off the hook for now!"

With that, she levitated her protector's body, blew the doors down with another blast of wind, and took off, leaving Kairi alone with the frozen Heartless. A chorus of excited voices (all female-sounding) outside told Kairi it was time for her to leave. She pointed her Keyblade in front of her, opened a shimmering portal back to King Kai's world, and dove right in.


	2. Death City

Sora had been to some dark, foreboding, and downright nightmarish worlds in his journeys…But Death City was…different…to say the least. The dull purple night sky, gnarled trees, and grinning, blood-dripping moon made the world look like some demented artist's painting, yet the climate felt warm, serene, and alive, almost like a mixture of Traverse Town and Twilight Town. He strolled nice and easy through the neighborhood, closer to the capital itself, which was built over a small mountain and packed together like a fortress, with what he assumed was the DWMA as the crowning jewel. He remembered Death the Kid telling him about it after they'd escaped from Demon World; its purpose was to train people to maintain order and balance in this world by slaying witches, monsters, and humans with tainted souls.

As he got closer to the Academy, he met his first wave of Heartless; five Shadows and two Wight Knights. Not wanting to alert anyone with loud noises or a lightshow, he summoned the Oathkeeper, dashed toward the Shadows and sliced them all apart with a single spinning-strike. The force sent the two Wight Knights tumbling and he ran them both through while they were down. He took a moment to remember the time he let that Soldier Heartless take him by surprise in Tomoeda and realized what an amateur he must have looked like to Syaoran. For just a moment Sora wished that Afro, Inuyasha, or any of the great swordsmen he'd fought with could see how much he'd improved. A scream coming from the Academy building snapped him out of it, though.

He leapt up the many steps leading to the Academy building and saw a dark-haired girl in a mostly black uniform running toward him with a flock of Gargoyle Heartless not far behind. The Gargoyles opened their jagged maws and spewed a volley of blue fireballs at the helpless girl, so Sora darted toward her, threw one arm tightly around her torso, and cast Reflega. The fireballs all bounced off the barrier and hit the Heartless right in their faces. Each Gargoyle burst into harmless black vapor and Sora released the girl as his barrier vanished.

"It's okay." said Sora as the girl wiped the tears from her eyes. "They're gone."

"Thanks so much…um…"

"Sora. So, you're a student at the Academy, right? Don't you have a partner?"

"Yeah, I do…but when those things appeared, she and I got separated and—"

"Tsugumi!"

They both turned left to see a girl about Tsugumi's age running toward them. She had jaw-length golden-brown hair with a single pigtail on her right and wore a plain yellow sweater over a white collared shirt with a red bow-tie. Tsugumi ran toward her friend and Sora headed for the front doors. He was about to reach for the handle when his whole body froze. His muscles contracted painfully when he tried to move and darkness began obscuring his vision, it was like seeing the world through a black tunnel.

"Sora…" said a sensuous, yet venomous voice. "Don't go in…come to the cemetery…and don't talk to anyone on the way or I'll know."

He recognized the voice almost instantly; it was the witch who attacked Fire mountain Castle and Radiant Garden…Medusa was her name. Whatever she was doing to him, he was sure she could do much worse if he didn't do as she demanded, so he turned away from the Academy.

* * *

Lord Death stood before his mirror watching the young Keyblade Master with Stein and Spirit waiting patiently behind him. Where was Sora going? King Kai had assured Lord Death that Sora would come straight to the Academy.

"He looked kinda freaked out, don't ya think?" Spirit remarked.

"Mmm, yes." Lord Death replied. "If I had to guess, I'd say someone or something is luring him away."

"You want us to stop him?" Stein offered.

"No." Lord Death replied. "Follow him and be ready to jump in if he gets into trouble."

* * *

Sora followed Medusa's instructions through the city, trying his hardest not to look like he was in a hurry. Once he reached the gates of Hook Cemetery, he took a deep breath and marched in. He couldn't sense Medusa anywhere. Wondering if she was baiting him into an ambush, he summoned the Oblivion, shut his eyes, and tried sensing for any kind of dark presence. Four such presences blossomed around him and his eyes flew open; he was surrounded by Search Ghosts. He flipped forward and cast Thundaga, nuking two of them and beheaded the other two in one cleave. A drove of Neoshadows burst out of the mud in front of him; he was about to let them all have it when a bunch of black arrow-tipped tendrils shout out from the shadows and skewered them. The arrows all withdrew and Medusa stepped into the light, clad in dark green.

"What's going on, Medusa?" Sora asked.

"Xehanort betrayed me…" Medusa replied, dropping her usual impertinence for a more no-nonsense tone. "He gave control of the Heartless to my sister, Arachne and one of his followers taught her to build a machine that produces more of them."

"So, you want me to help you get back at your sister?" Sora sneered. Nothing disgusted him more than when people expected him to do their dirty work.

"That's right." said Medusa. "I want her dead and I refuse to let the Academy have the pleasure."

"And what if I don't want to?"

Medusa bared her pearly teeth in a tight, reptilian grin and said "Then my snake will rip you apart from the inside out."

"S-snake?"

"That's right. I put it in your body while you were protecting that girl. Once your barrier—or whatever it was—wore off, it was easy. Help me punish Arachne, and I'll remove it…deal?"

* * *

"Damn." Stein hissed as he watched Medusa wrap herself and Sora in a sphere of darkness, which quickly dissipated.

None of them had a clue where Arachne's base of operations was and their only lead was gone.

"What now, Stein?" Spirit grumbled.

"We report back to Lord Death. Nothing more we can do here." said Stein. "Hopefully, Maka's team is closer to finding them than we are."

* * *

Thousands of miles away from Death City, Maka Albarn and her teammates, Kid and Black Star were pursuing a trio of Arachnophobia grunts through the rainforest. As they scurried into the weeds, Maka signaled Kid and Black Star to get to the trees while she continued the chase. The three grunts just made it into a clearing when the boys dropped down, weapons at the ready.

"That's enough!" Maka panted as she leapt into the clearing. "Just tell us where your boss is and—"

Before she could finish, the grunts thrust their own spears into their hearts.

"Damn!" she growled.

"Hey, Maka." said Kid. "Over there…"

A few feet to the left, Maka could see some light; it looked like they had reached the edge of the forest. The three Meisters pushed their way through the trees and stared down into an enormous ravine.

"Shit…that place has 'death' written all over it." Liz (still in pistol-form) remarked.

"Just the kind of place a witch would be right at home." Maka concluded.

They began leaping from rock to rock, steadily making their way down the ravine. As they neared the bottom, Maka could make out a simple gray castle attached to what looked like a colossal red and gray mechanical spider and two figures were approaching it. Four of the black humanoid Heartless rose from the ground behind them and Kid raised his pistols to fire.

"Wait, Kid." Maka hissed, clapping a hand on his upper arm. "Black Star, quietly."

"You got it." Black Star whispered, followed by a whispered "Yahooo."

He flipped over the Heartless and sliced off their heads with one swish of Tsubaki's blade. With the threat eliminated, they began darting between rocks and stalagmites closer to the two figures standing before the castle. Maka peeked behind a stone column and got a good look at them; the boy dressed in silver, she didn't recognize, but the woman in green, she knew immediately.

* * *

"So…" said Sora as Medusa scanned Baba Yaga Castle. "Think she knows we're here?"

"Oh, she knows." Medusa affirmed. "But the less noise we make, the longer it'll take her lackeys to pinpoint us. Let's try…"

A powerful light presence alerted Sora and he summoned the Fenrir and shoved Medusa away. He whirled around in time to parry an overhand slash from a girl wielding an oversized red and black scythe. She had blond pigtails, blazing green eyes, and a look of pure, unbridled rage on her face. Beneath the radiant light in her heart, he could sense something dark and volatile…as though she had been tainted somehow.

"Out of my way!" she growled.

Sora blocked every thrust, cleave, and whirling slash the girl made without too much stress and flexed backward as she attempted a hook-kick. She was good, but definitely not on his level. He cast Aeroga and sent her tumbling back a few feet.

"Stop, Maka!" a familiar voice shouted.

Death the Kid ran in front of the girl as she got to her feet, followed by a boy with spiky blue hair dressed in white.

"Kid?!" Sora called out.

"What's going on, Sora?" asked Kid. "Why are you protecting Medusa?"

"She threatened me."

Medusa got in front of Sora and Kid gripped the girl called "Maka's" shoulder as she tensed up.

"Sora and I have everything under control here. So, you kids can go home now."

Before any of them could retort, a dark portal opened beneath them. Sora was just about to sprint over and try to grab one of them before they fell in, but Medusa wrapped one of her tendrils around him and threw him back. He was back on his feet in an instant but it was too late; Kid and his companions were out of sight and the portal was gone, leaving only a few little wisps of black mist.

"Don't worry, I only sent them back to Death City." said Medusa. "Now, as I was saying earlier: we should cut a hole in the side of the castle and work our way up. And remember, set one foot out of line…and you're dead."

Sora threw her a look of contempt, switched to the Sleeping Lion, and thrust it into the hull of the spider mech. He wished he could thrust it into whatever passed for Medusa's heart, but he had to go along with her until she decided to remove the snake.

* * *

Arachne lounged in her web, sipping wine, waiting for her sister and the Keybearer to find her. Giriko had left with one of Xehanort's followers, Mosquito was searching for Asura, and she knew her soldiers wouldn't be able to stop Medusa. But her darling Heartless pets and dark powers gave her the advantage. She didn't have the limitless supply that Xehanort did (not yet, at least) but she had produced some exceptional ones. Xehanort's first disciple, an imp by the name of "Garlic Junior" had assembled an unfathomable army, from what she'd been told. He'd conquered many worlds and plunged them into darkness as Xehanort had hoped, but failed to properly utilize his dark powers when it mattered most. Xehanort took Medusa under his wing around the same time he met Garlic Junior; he was only with her for a few days, but she impressed him enough that he decided she would inherit the Heartless should anything happen to Garlic Junior. Medusa however, ignored his instructions once he disappeared and used the Heartless for her own pursuits, so shortly after returning, he commanded them all to leave her and come to Arachne. Of all his disciples, he'd called her "the most promising, so far." It wasn't saying much, but Arachne loved being the best at anything and she would ensure it stayed that way.

* * *

Sora and Medusa spent over an hour crawling through ductwork and maintenance shafts, avoiding Arachne's forces and dispatching the occasional Shadow. The moment they emerged in the castle's library however, they were met with a cadre of men in black robes and white masks, who Medusa skewered with her arrow-tendrils before Sora could even lift his Keyblade. A bookcase next to Sora slid open and five more of Arachne's grunts darted out with a drove of Neoshadows and Sora sliced his way through all of them in a flash, not really wanting to kill the men, but far more concerned with keeping himself alive.

"You certainly know how to make a girl feel welcome, dear sister." said Medusa.

A curvaceous, dark-haired woman clad in black stepped into the light. She looked nothing like Medusa but Sora could sense the dark and volatile magic emanating from her…it rivaled Medusa's.

"You're _never_ welcome here, Medusa." Arachne sneered. "But you just couldn't resist, could you?"

Arachne's voice was a bit deeper than Medusa's and had none of her provocative, playful energy. She was like an angry mother talking to child she hated.

"Have you two always been this loving of a family?" Sora chimed in, stifling a small snicker.

"That doesn't matter." Medusa hissed. "It never has."

"You've always been a selfish, spiteful little brat, but if I'd known you'd go this far, I'd have killed you centuries ago." said Arachne.

"Hey!" said Sora, stepping forward. "Sorry to interrupt your little family moment, but it's time to die now."

"What he said." Medusa added.

Arachne lifted a dainty hand and Sora could barely see a tangle of clear silk stretching toward him and Medusa. He flipped to the left and hurled the Sleeping Lion at Arachne, but a Defender Heartless appeared and took the hit for her. She sent a flurry of dark projectiles at Medusa, who shielded herself with her arrows, allowing Sora to cast Thundaga. Arachne was brought to her knees and skewered by one of Medusa's arrows. A small spout of blood flew from her mouth as her sister threw her back.

"Now, Sora!" Medusa commanded.

Sora flipped toward Arachne, ready to run her through, but something hurled him backward. He sprung to his feet in an instant and saw a ghoulish white heartless with long spindly fingers, a ghostly tail instead of legs, and a skull-like face. It was armed with what appeared to be an oversized pendulum, which it held with both hands as though it were about to thrust it into the ground. A ball of black and azure flame appeared at the tip of the pendulum's blade and fell to the ground, spreading over Arachne's dead soldiers. The soldiers slowly picked themselves up of the ground and began dragging themselves toward Medusa, who lashed and whirled her arrows about, slicing them apart. The Heartless pointed its pendulum at Medusa and a ring of dark energy appeared around her but before it could finish whatever curse it was placing, Sora switched to the True Light's Flight and flung it into the creature's chest.

"Spark!" he shouted and a dozen rays of light burst out of the Heartless body.

It mere moments, the Heartless burst into a rain of golden sparks and black mist. Arachne rose to her feet and began emitting waves of energy so volatile that Sora began feeling nauseous. He cast Reflega on Medusa as Arachne hurled a ball of pulsating black and magenta energy at her. The moment the deadly ball touched the barrier, it flew back to Arachne and hit her square in the face, sending her tumbling back.

"I'll take it from here, Sora." said Medusa. "You find that Heartless machine and destroy it. Go!"

Sora nodded and dashed down a corridor toward the castle's higher levels. After stumbling blindly through a maze of corridors, he got impatient and started blasting holes in the walls with Firaga. Forty or so more of Arachne's soldiers came pouring out of passageways in the walls and he cloaked himself in fire. The ones he didn't burn to a crisp or slice in half dropped their weapons and ran for it. He leapt up a winding staircase and came to a chamber with a cylindrical machine about the size of his beach shack in it. He knew from the glass pods on each side and the network of gears in the shape of the Heartless emblem that it was his target. Four Defenders appeared and surrounded him, so he back-flipped away and made a glacier burst from the ground, and crash through the ceiling, crushing them. Then he pointed his blade at the base of the machine and cast Graviga. It began cracking, sparking, and spewing black goo until the whole thing just imploded. Sora dismissed the Sleeping Lion and breathed a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp and overwhelming pain in his chest. He staggered and fell to his knees as his flesh began tearing. He doubled over and something black burst out of his chest and slunk through the air. He placed a hand over the gaping wound in his chest as Medusa loomed over him. He could barely see her viper-like eyes beneath her hood.

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, Sora." she gloated. "Taking on Arachne and her forces all by my lonesome would have been a nightmare. I was afraid I'd have to let the Academy get Arachne for me. I was actually looking for someone to persuade when you arrived, but the moment I saw you…I knew everything was going to go my way and you have to admit, we made a pretty good team."

Sora reached into his pouch for the one potion he brought with him and Medusa kicked it out of his hand. The bottle crashed into a wall and the potion dripped down into a deep crack.

"However, you're just as much a threat to me as she was. I'd love to have you as a subordinate...but I'll find someone else."

Medusa turned her back on Sora and began to make her way toward the exit.

 _Big mistake!_

Sora summoned the Oblivion and cast Stopza. Having learned from his fight with Erza, he immediately cast Curaga and then began whaling on the helpless Medusa. Stopza wore off and Medusa felt the brunt of Sora's attacks and flew into the wall. Half of her face was lost in a mess of blood…it was an improvement, but Sora decided he could do better…how about no face at all? He pointed the tip at Medusa's face and prepared to launch a Dark Firaga when some unseen force sent him flying back. He recovered with a quick aerial flip and saw a black arrow on the ground where he had been standing. It faded away as Medusa struggled to stand. Her left knee was broken, so four of her arrows stretched out of her back and she used them to support herself. Sora had enough magic left for probably one more spell and Medusa was more-or-less on her last legs. Both were at a disadvantage, both were as good as dead if they messed this up, and only one was going to walk away alive.

* * *

Maka and her team along with Ox, Kilik, Kim, and their partners tore off their parachutes as soon as they were within a safe landing distance and raced toward Arachne's castle as fast as they could. She hoped Kid's friend was alright, but she was more concerned with putting a stop to whatever Medusa was planning. Each Meister paired up with his or her weapon as they reached the front doors and Kilik blasted them down with his Aphex Twin technique. The six of them rushed inside expecting a welcoming party and were surprised to see none. They made a quick trip up the stairs and found their way into what appeared to be a library with more dead goons and a bloody, broken-bodied Arachne.

"Whaddya think, Kid?" Maka asked.

"Sora was never this brutal when I met him. Gotta be Medusa." Kid decided.

Ox pointed out an open passage in a nearby wall and suggested that they follow it. They did just that and came to a small maze littered with dead Arachnophobia goons and a hole blasted into each wall. They followed the devastation to an isolated room and Maka gasped at the sight of what she had a feeling was once Medusa slumped against a wall. At the opposite end was Sora…completely out of it…but breathing. Kid tried to wake him up to ask if he was alright, but got only an exhausted groan out of him.

"No injuries, I guess he's just tired."

"You really think HE did all this?" Ox inquired.

"It's hard to say. Let's just get him back to the base."

Kid carried Sora on his back while Maka got her mirror and contacted Lord Death. She told him about the bodies and how Sora was the only one alive.

"I see. Well, once he's feeling better, bring him back here. I'd like to have a few words with him."


	3. Reluctant Heroes

Riku tore through the corridors of darkness and stepped into a vast wilderness dressed in a roomy pair of blue jeans with a black studded belt, white sneakers, and a sleeveless, black high-collared top that covered about half of his midriff. King Kai offered to make him a Keyblade Master's garb, but he didn't feel the need for one. As he breathed in the crisp, cool country air, he could feel a powerful darkness in the distance, like a multitude of storms brewing on the horizon. While he trekked through the forest, he scanned the trees for Heartless. Many of the trees here were so tall they looked as though they could touch the clouds; they were the perfect hiding places for Air Soldiers or Gargoyles. As if on cue, three dark shapes zoomed down from above, but they were neither of the Heartless species Riku was expecting…they were a dull blue with one set of draconic wings on their sides…these were Wyverns. He summoned the End of Pain, sprung upward, and twisted and rolled in midair, slicing through them like warm butter.

A vast shadow spread over the forest when Riku landed and he whirled around, expecting a giant Heartless of some kind…what was staring down at him was something far more hideous. It looked almost human, but its lips were peeled back, exposing its yellow teeth and its bloodshot eyes were fixed in a hungry, primal glare. He reached out his left hand and fired three Dark Firagas that closed in on the creature and crashed into its right eye. It let out a blood-curdling shriek, clutched its eye with one hand, and swatted ineffectually at Riku with the other. He flipped backward, then darted forward and took its hand off in one clean slice.

"Back of its neck!" someone shouted over the monster's shrieks.

Riku twisted his head to the left to see who the strange voice belonged to and saw a man about Sora's height wearing a hooded forest-green raincloak.

"Huh?"

"Aim for the back of its neck!" the strange man commanded.

The enraged beast tried to seize Riku with its remaining hand, so he dashed between its massive legs, jumped up and sliced deep into the back of its neck. It dropped to its knees and rolled over, bleeding out. The strange man approached Riku, his cloak fluttering slightly in the breeze.

"Hold it." said Riku, thrusting his blade within a hair's reach of the man's chest. "I don't trust people who hide their faces."

The man stood still as a statue for a few uncomfortable moments and then lowered his hood so Riku could see his face. He had a fair complexion, dark, oily brown hair, and dull brown eyes that looked like they'd literally gazed into Hell. Riku guessed he was in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. When he spoke, his voice was as cold and dry as an arctic wind.

"I'm Levi Ackerman, Captain of the Scout Regiment. And you are…?"

"Riku."

"Alright…Riku…you're obviously not military…so, are you friend or foe?"

At that moment, a dozen or so Neoshadows tore their way out of the earth all around them.

"Neither." said Riku, adopting a classic Form II stance. "I'm here for _them_."

"Not what I wanted to hear…but I'll take it." said Levi, drawing a sword from each of the oversized sheaths hooked to his belt.

* * *

Master Xehanort and the false Ansem stood on a balcony in the former home of Krul Tepes. They watched as Xemnas sparred with Xehanort's teenage self down in the grand hall below. Shortly after Roxas' departure from the organization, Xemnas had lead a full-scale invasion of this world, killed nearly every vampire that inhabited this city, and even a small army of human soldiers who were likely planning to take on the vampires themselves. The younger Xehanort was on par with, if not slightly above Sora and Riku. The final battle was by all accounts in Xehanort's favor, save one variable…Riku. The lad was every bit as proficient with darkness as Xehanort was at his age, in perfect harmony with it…and yet he choose to fight on the side of light. Would that complicate the X-Blade's creation? It was impossible to know for certain since the tomes did not distinguish between darkness as an implement and darkness as an affiliation.

He'd thought of having Riku killed, but then he would need to wait for another Keyblade wielder to be chosen and guided down the path of light…and he just couldn't wait that long. Age was catching up to him…he could feel it; death would be upon him soon. How soon he could not say, but this was his last chance to see the X-Blade forged in his lifetime. He hated to leave anything to fate, but he saw no other way. To create a perfect X-Blade, seven Keyblade wielders with hearts full of light and thirteen Keyblade wielders of comparable strength with hearts full of darkness had to clash…that was the one thing the tomes were perfectly clear on. He was just going to have to stay the course and hope for the best.

"Hey, Gramps."

It was Giriko, a rogue Demon Weapon previously in league with Arachne Gorgon. He agreed to become a Seeker of Darkness after Xigbar paid him a visit and promised him more victims to feed his perpetual lust for carnage. His love of bloodshed was so great that he was all-too-happy to hunt down the few remaining vampires and slaughter them single-handedly.

"I just heard from my boys back home. Seems Arachne bit the big one…Medusa too."

"So…Arachne is no more." Xehanort growled. "That is disappointing. Any clues as to who's responsible?"

"They got a hold of one of Arachne's grunts. According to him, a boy with spiky brown hair dressed in silver and black was going on a rampage through her castle killing freakin' everyone. Sound familiar?"

"Hm…going on a killing spree…that doesn't sound like Sora at all." Xehanort mused. "The Kishin's madness, maybe?"

"Could be." said Giriko, guzzling bourbon from a bottle he carried everywhere. "Given any thought to our last member?"

"Yes…and I know exactly who I want." Xehanort replied with a smile.

"Nice, where do we find em'?"

"We needn't look for him." said Xehanort. "When the last Guardian of Light awakens, so will he and his first instinct will be to come back to me."

"Shall we keep testing the other candidates?" Ansem inquired.

"Yes." Xehanort replied. "It never hurts to have a backup or two."

* * *

Mikasa peeled away the bandages she'd painstakingly wrapped around Eren's chest. The ghastly, festering wound that black demon gave him had gotten worse. She had no medicine to put in it, only a little alcohol. He was also showing signs of anemia, so Captain Levi tried feeding him some fruit and wine he'd taken from a dead priest, but that did little for him.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

"Nah…my whole body just feels cold." Eren sighed. "I think this is it for me, Mikasa. I'm sorry…but..."

"Everyone!" the Captain's hard voice called out.

Everyone but Eren stood at attention and saw Levi strolling into the camp with a stranger at his side. He was about Jean's height and probably around his age. His eyes were a vivid bluish green, his hair was as white as a mountain cap, and he walked the same way as Levi. It was the march of a warrior, the kind who'd strike down anyone who stood up to him without a second thought.

"There's no easy way for me to explain this, so I'm just gonna tell it like it is." Levi began, clapping a hand on the taller boy's shoulder. "This here's Riku. He's freakishly strong, he has the same powers as those creatures, and he's gonna give us a hand with them. Isn't that right, Riku?"

"That's right." the newcomer replied.

Once Riku had been introduced to Mikasa, Jean, and Armin, he took notice of Eren lying on his cot.

"What happened to him?" Riku asked.

"He took a hit from one of those things." Mikasa immediately answered.

Riku knelt beside Eren and Mikasa's heart jolted as he tore off the bandages. She took a step toward him and opened her mouth to warn him not to touch him, but Levi gripped her upper arm.

"Mikasa, don't." he hissed. "It's fine."

Mikasa watched as Riku placed his hand over Eren's festering wound. There was a glimmer of green light and she gasped as the wound closed. In a matter of seconds, it was as though it were never there. Eren groaned and opened his eyes. Mikasa rushed to his side as he put his feet on the ground and sat up.

"Feeling better?" Riku asked.

"Not perfect, but yeah…lot better."

"Riku's been dealing with those things for a while now—or so he claims—so he's pretty much an expert on 'em." Levi went on. "Show 'em what else you can do, Riku."

Riku nodded and held out his right hand as though he were offering someone an apple. Jean and Armin tensed up and backed away as a ball of swirling black and blue fire blossomed a few inches above Riku's palm.

"I've been fighting the Heartless for about three years now, so I'm pretty much the best in the business." he boasted.

"Yeah, I'll bet!" Jean sneered.

The dark orb shrunk into a wisp of harmless smoke as Riku lowered his hand.

"Problem, Jean?" asked Levi.

"First these things show up just as we're getting a handle on our titan problem an' suddenly some stranger comes along…who just happens to be an expert on em' and even has the same powers?"

"What're you getting at?" Levi growled impatiently.

"Look at all the people we thought were our friends an' turned out to be our worst enemies!" Jean reminded them. "For all we know, this guy could be one of them! He could be the one controlling those things!"

"Come off it, Jean!" Eren snapped. "Would Annie have healed me the way Riku did?"

Jean scoffed and turned away from Eren while everyone else looked to Levi.

"I've seen Riku bring down a titan using nothing but an oversized sword...no gear or nothing." he confessed. "He even slaughtered a horde of those winged demons an' barely broke a sweat. I'm willing to bet he could kill all of us in the blink of an eye if he wanted to, yet here he is offering his help. I think we should take advantage of his generosity."

Riku held out his hand and a sword appeared in it. The sword had a broad, notched, black and ivory blade, a devil's wing at the tip, and a horned skull at the base.

"Three years ago, my best friend and I left our island to go exploring and got separated in a storm. Since then, I've been fighting the Heartless almost nonstop. The winged ones are called "Invisibles" and they're one of the worst kinds. They're like natural-born swordsmen and it takes a better swordsman to kill them. So, I think teaching you all proper sword-fighting is the best way for me to help you."

"Uh, sorry, but what do you mean 'proper?'" Eren asked.

"Pick up one of those swords." Riku instructed. "Show me how you normally use it."

Eren looked from Riku to Levi.

"Do as he says." Levi ordered.

Eren picked up a Maneuver Gear Blade, poised himself, and lunged at Riku. He swung with all his might, but Riku effortlessly blocked it with his own sword.

"You're pretty strong, but you're not cutting down trees here." Riku chided. "Swinging your sword around like an axe may work against those brainless titans, but it'll get you killed against another sword-wielder…especially the Invisibles."

He motioned for Eren to stand next to Jean and Armin and turned to Levi.

"Your turn, Captain."

Levi nodded, drew a blade from each of his sheaths, and unhooked them both…probably to make himself lighter. He spread his legs just slightly, drew his blades back, and spun toward Riku so fast that he looked like a tornado of blades, but Riku blocked him just as easily as he blocked Eren. He flipped over Riku's head and began whirling like a dervish, an average fighter would have been turned into cutlets, but Riku seemed to know every move the Captain was going to make before he made it. Eren, Jean, and Armin watched slack-jawed as Riku made sport out of their Captain.

"Cute." Riku taunted. "But all you're doing is wasting energy. Try using some restraint."

Levi blew out a sharp breath, circled Riku, and began jabbing at his shoulders, knees, and elbows, but Riku either flexed away from or knocked away each jab with but the faintest signs of exertion. Finally, the two of them locked blades and Riku relieved the Captain of both of his with a swish of his own sword.

"There's an art to swordplay, and you're definitely on the right track." said Riku.

Levi opened his mouth to reply, but a messenger from the front lines came rushing into the camp and hissed something in his ear. Levi remained stone-faced and dismissed the messenger with a nod.

"Listen up…" he said. "Over a dozen of those things are camping out in the ruins of the Shiganshina District…"

Eren winced a bit as Levi mentioned his former home.

"…and a giant one too, apparently. I figure this is our chance to really cripple their forces."

"Maybe even find whoever's directing them." Riku added. "How far away is this district?"

"It's about half a day north of us." Levi replied. Our boys out there'll keep an eye on the Heartless, so you just focus on training us for now, deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

Riku wasted no time in teaching the scouts the basics of swordplay; he showed them thrusts, overhand and backhand chops, and blocks. Once they got the hang of blocking a powerful blow, he tried to ease them into redirecting. He had Levi take a swing at him, sent his blade slanting into a nearby tree before sending him staggering back with a palm thrust. He left Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean to their own devices while he and Levi sparred. Levi was a quicker learner than Riku had hoped; he'd been through so much hardship in the war against the titans that a few simple lessons must have been child's play to him. There were even a few brief moments when Riku had to reach into his dark power just to keep up with him. Once Levi started feeling fatigue, they sat and watched the others go at it. Each of them performed the moves Riku taught them perfectly, but there was a problem: Jean and Armin were relying on those same moves and it had gotten to the point where neither one could outdo the other, it just went on and on in a cycle. Meanwhile, Mikasa was going far too easy on Eren. She had so many chances to trip him, disarm him, break his guard, or go right under it with a surgical stab, but she never did. Form and technique were important, but they were not enough in a real fight, he couldn't let them get complacent.

"Everyone, stop!" He barked, getting to his feet.

Everyone lowered their training blades and stood at attention just as they'd done with Levi.

"The idea isn't to dance back and forth like puppets!" Riku chastised. "Jean, take a swing at me, right now!"

Jean immediately swung downward for Riku's chest and Riku sent his blade spinning out of his hand with a sharp blow to the blade just above the hand guard.

"Precision and exploitation…those are what you need to win a fight quickly and with minimal damage to YOU!" He added. "Now, go again. And this time, with a little more variety…don't be afraid to get creative. And Mikasa, if Eren makes a mistake, take advantage of it! It's the only way he's gonna learn. Got it?"

Everyone nodded and went back at it. Armin was the first to take Riku's advice by sweeping his leg and tripping Jean while their blades were locked. Then Mikasa surprised everyone by dropping her sword midbattle and throwing Eren to the ground.

"Well, Riku?" asked Levi after watching them spar for about an hour. "Whaddya think?"

"Mmmm…If we can get two weeks of uninterrupted training, I think they'll be more than ready." said Riku.

"We don't _have_ two weeks." Levi warned. "As soon as those Heartless start moving, so do we."

"Then, they'll just have to train nonstop until then."

The Scouts did exactly that for four days. On day five, however…at the crack of dawn, the training came to an abrupt end when eight Neoshadows came into the camp. Riku was the first to draw his weapon, but Levi seized his shoulder, stopping him while Eren, Mikasa, Jean, and Armin faced the threat head-on. Mikasa beheaded her two Neoshadows in the blink of an eye while Jean threw one onto another and skewered them both. Armin jumped over one and thrust his sword behind him, stabbing it through the back and Eren beheaded one that tried to grab Armin, having already dispatched his two. As soon as the last Neoshadow was dead, six Invisibles appeared.

"This is it, guys." said Riku. "Just keep cool and use what I taught you."

Levi's Invisible was the first to make a move and the moment it did, he flung a dagger he kept in his sleeve, which the fiend swatted away with its sword, it was all the distraction Levi needed to jump up and spear the thing through the chin.

"That's it, Captain!" Riku coached.

Jean tried kicking a cloud of dirt into an Invisible's face and when it wasn't even phased, he dove to the left as it rushed him, threw himself onto its back, and dug his blade deep into its skull. Eren dropped to one knee as his attempted to behead him and thrust his blade into its chest while Armin rolled under his and sliced off its legs at the knees before stabbing into its back. Mikasa's managed to disarm her, so she had to wrestle with it for a few moments. Finally, she tore its own sword from its hands and ran it through. Riku used Reflega to send the remaining one's projectiles back at it. He then wrapped his Keyblade in dark flames and flung it so hard it looked like a black and amber disk, slicing the fiend's head clean-off. The instant the last Invisible was dead; twelve more Neos emerged and charged without a moment's pause, followed by dozens of Shadows. Just over the east horizon, Riku could make out a mammoth, beefy-legged Behemoth Heartless bathed in the gentle orange of the rising sun.

"Hey…Riku…" Jean muttered. "If we don't make it out of this alive…"

"We're GONNA make it, Jean. So, save it." said Riku. "Just leave the big one to me."

"No way, Riku." said Levi. "This is _our_ land an' we need to know we can protect it when you're gone."

"Alright then, Captain. You and me."

"Right behind you."

With that, they dashed toward the approaching Behemoth, slicing and hacking their way through Neoshadow after Neoshadow. When they were within striking distance, its horn began to glow a brilliant gold and Riku instinctively zagged to the left to avoid a lightning bolt. He could have used Reflega or Protega to protect Levi from the lightning, but Reflega was too hard to cast on a moving target and Protega would only give him so much protection, better to remove the lightning altogether, so he coated his Keyblade in ice and flung it at the Behemoth's horn, freezing it. He then cast Dark Firaga, shattering the horn and prompting a thunderous snarl from the Behemoth. Levi shot a thick cord from the gear around his waist into the beast's forehead and grappled up to it. He then drew two blades, plunged them into its eyes, and held on as it thrashed about, roaring with fury. As soon as he got the chance, he scrambled up its face, dug his blade into the back of its neck, and ran down the length of its back, dragging the blade with him, carving a deep slice in the Behemoth. Once he'd leapt from the beast, Riku released his Keyblade and let it fly like a missile into the beast's chest. The Behemoth collapsed to the ground and dissolved into a maelstrom of black and purple smoke and no sooner did five Invisibles appear. Levi unhooked his sheaths and spiraled up into the air, shredding two of them, while Riku danced around the remaining three, dismembering them with surgical precision.

"Think…that's the last of them?" Levi panted.

"Mmmm, yeah…" Rikku affirmed, closing his eyes. "I can feel it, the darkness is dying down."

"Hey!"

Jean, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were marching toward them covered in scratches, but with triumphant smirks on their faces.

"So, what now, Captain?" Eren inquired. "Back to the camp?"

"Yep." Levi sighed, turning to Riku. "What about you?"

"I have other places I need to be." Riku replied.

"Right, watch yourself out there."

"I will. Just one more thing…If you could not mention me, my powers, or my weapon to anyone I'd really appreciate it."

"Don't worry, we know a thing or two about discretion."

"Alright then, I'm off." said Riku.

"Thanks for your help, Riku." said Eren placing a fist over his heart in salute.

"Take it easy, man." said Jean, giving the same salute followed by Armin, Mikasa, and Levi.

Riku returned the salute and marched off toward the sunrise without another word.


	4. Honnouji Academy

Lea sat in the lounge in the organization's asteroid base in Stardust Sweep. He'd ditched his organization coat and now wore a sleeveless orange hoodie, black cargo shorts, and black high-tops. He scrolled through a datapad he'd found under a loose floor panel he'd almost tripped over. The log was almost all data from a year ago, worlds that the user was scheduled to go. But the final entry was for today…and the target was a world called Honnōji Academy. He recognized the name only because about nine years ago, when he was still "Axel," he was sent to assist Xigbar on a retrieval mission there as his very first assignment for the organization. Xigbar took him into some kind of underground research lab and made him kill everyone inside and retrieve a briefcase. Once he did this, Xigbar took him to another research lab where a woman named "Kiryuin" was waiting for them. She was a rather tall woman clad in white with bizarre rainbow highlights in her hair. Xigbar instructed Axel to give Kiryuin the case, while he took credit for its retrieval. Kiryuin thanked Xigbar and dismissed them both. He had no idea what was in the briefcase (not that he really cared at the time) or why the organization had dealings with that woman in the first place, but if the organization was still interested in Honnōji, then it was definitely worth a visit. He quickly scanned the coordinates, summoned his Keyblade, and shot a beam of light which blossomed into a shimmering portal.

* * *

In the middle of a hazy green void was a dilapidated castle and in the courtyard of that castle, lounging in a hot tub was Sora, flanked by a pair of bikini-clad girls who looked just like Kairi and Naminé (much to his annoyance) with perky cat ears and twitching cat tails. The pseudo-Naminé was massaging his shoulders while the pseudo-Kairi conditioned his hair and lounging across from him was the dream demon who called himself "The Chaser," wearing only his mask and a pair of fish bone-patterned swimming trunks. Sora paid the girls no mind; he only had eyes for his enemy.

"So, what is this?" Sora inquired. "You have a change of heart or something? Or are you just trying to get me to let my guard down?"

"Neither." The Chaser rasped. "If I wanted to claim you, it would be too easy in your weakened state. Besides…I'm not one to pick up someone else's _scraps_ , if you'll pardon the expression. I just thought we could benefit from a little chat before you recover…try the Crab Rangoon."

"No thanks." said Sora ignoring the pseudo-Naminé as she offered him a silver platter and continuing to glare at The Chaser _._

"Mmm, your loss." The Chaser replied taking some from the platter and then taking a sip of the drink he clutched in his right paw. "So…you're a Keyblade Master now. You found your center, you're one with the universe, et cetera, et cetera. What now?"

"Now? Now my friends and I find a way to beat Xehanort so we can all get on with our lives."

"And how do you propose to do that?" The Chaser pressed. "Based on what I've seen so far, I'd say Xehanort has every possible advantage. Hell, any action you take will probably benefit him more than you. That seems to be your dynamic, doesn't it? Ever since you first picked up that little key, you've been _someone's_ pawn…whether you knew it or not."

"Yeah, well…I'll take my chances with the ones who respect me and actually fight alongside me." Sora rationalized. "And just how long **have** you been watching me, anyway?"

"Long enough to know that once you decide on a course of action, there's almost no stopping you…"

"Hey, when I get an opportunity, I take it. Ever since I got off my island, that's how I've lived."

"…with little regard to the consequences."

"What do you know about consequences?" Sora retorted. "You were just gonna take over my body and use it to do whatever you wanted, right? If that happens, then there's no one to stop Xehanort if anything happens to the others!"

"True, but who says Xehanort needs to be stopped?" The Chaser parried. "It's not like there's some cosmic law that says the light always has to defeat the darkness."

"Right, but Xehanort's plan—"

"—is to seize the power of Kingdom Hearts, to unravel all of its mysteries, and to see the universe change in ways he can't even imagine…just like it changed all those eons ago. That sounds like an adventurer to me…not some evil, harbinger of doom."

"Right! But what if…what if he ends up creating a universe where dream demons like you can't exist, huh?"

"Hmmm, I see your point. I suppose it **is** in my best interest to let you be…for now."

* * *

Honnō City was built over a mountain and packed together, not unlike Death City. At the very top of the mountain was the pearly white Honnōji Academy building; simple and unassuming except for its titanic size and the spire-like tower at the top. As Lea examined the school, he could see that uniformed construction workers and even students were repairing broken walls, and damaged ground, but what really caught his attention was a wad of silvery goo oozing out of a vent. It dropped to the ground, forming a puddle and morphed into a Creeper. He leapt over the front gate and summoned his Keyblade, but stopped himself when he saw the Creeper sprout a pair of chiropteran wings and take off toward the tower. Lea could barely make out someone in an organization coat standing on the very tip-top. It was very slim and petite in stature, whoever it was. His first thought was Larxene, but it seemed unlikely that Xehanort would let her back into the organization after what she and Marluxia had pulled at Castle Oblivion. So, then it had to be one the newer members.

 _Maybe they can lead me to the organization's new headquarters._ He thought. _Or at least I could take 'em out and we'll have one less to worry about…but King Kai probably wouldn't like that…he'd prob'ly say it's too reckless…but then Sora pretty much built his career on "reckless." Damn, this whole "good guy" thing is…complicated._

"Excuse me!" A sharp, womanly voice snapped him to attention.

He turned to his right to see a girl in her late teens with long, dark, cool gray hair, fair skin, eyes like balls of blue fire, and a lean face marching toward him. She was dressed from head to toe in white and carried herself like a soldier…no…more like a seasoned general.

"Break time is over. So either help out or go ho…wait…it's you…"

"Huh?"

"What are YOU doing back here?!"

That was recognition on this chick's face. Do doubt about it.

"You…recognize me?" Lea inquired.

"Of course I recognize you!" she replied. "You were one of the men who visited my mother that day…you gave her the life fibers!"

Thinking back to that day, Lea did remember seeing someone watching in the background when he gave Kiryuin the briefcase. The sight of a dark gray metal blade coming toward his face snapped him into defensive mode; he produced his Keyblade and blocked the attack in less time than it took to contemplate. Kiryuin's daughter definitely wasn't messing around as she slashed and thrusted at him at almost lightning speed, she wanted him dead!

"Gamagori!" she bellowed.

In less than five seconds, a young man busted through the front wall of the school. He wore a uniform similar to the girl's, had slick blond hair, a herculean physique, and an Adonis complexion. He rushed at Lea with the speed of a turbo tank. Lea fired a Blizzaga crystal, hoping to freeze him, but it shattered on impact and his fist hit Lea with the force of a missile, sending him sailing over the gates.

 _Damn…_ he thought. _I think that guy might be stronger than Aeleus._

Next thing he knew, the gates swung open and the hulking man lifted him up by his hood and held him before Kiryuin's daughter.

"Listen…ya got me all wrong…" he breathed.

"No, I never forget a face." she replied in a tone even Lea didn't want to argue with.

"I mean I'm not with those guys anymore!" he persisted.

"You mean you left the organization?"

"Yeah...that's part of why I'm here."

She stared at him for a few moments and said "Put him down, Gamagori."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki." her hulking lackey replied, setting Lea casually on his feet. The girl called "Satsuki" then asked for his name and he gave it to her without a moment's hesitation.

"Lea, the life fibers you gave my mother endangered millions of lives and could have destroyed our world. You understand that?"

"I had no idea, but I'll take your word for it." Lea replied. "I was just…"

"…just following orders, right?"

He could hear the contempt in her voice, but there was a fine layer of understanding beneath it.

"Pretty much, yeah." said Lea. "Just a dumb kid with no heart doing his job."

"Why did you join that organization, anyway?" Satsuki asked.

"Well… I didn't really have a choice at the time…at least I didn't think so back then."

"Did they force you?" she pressed.

"More like, they were the only ones who would take me in."

"I see…" she replied and after dissecting him with her eyes for a few tense moments she said. "You said part of the reason you were here was because you left those guys. Explain."

"I made some friends after I left the organization an' now I'm doing all I can to help my friends take em' down." Lea explained. "I went sniffing around one of their old bases and found out one of the members was heading to this world today. I actually saw one of em' a minute ago, but it wasn't the one I was expecting."

As soon as he said that, five Dusks, an Assassin, and a Sniper appeared. Lea summoned his Keyblade and batted the Sniper's bolt right back at it as it opened fire. To Satsuki and Gamagori, it probably happened in the blink of an eye, but to Lea, it was like moving in slow motion. The moment he turned around, Satsuki had beheaded all of the Dusks and Gamagori and crushed the Assassin under his boot like a bug.

"Look at that!" said Gamagori pointing behind them.

They turned to see a rippling black portal opening up. They waited for a few moments, but no one came out to greet them.

"What's the deal, Lea?" Satsuki asked.

"More than likely…they're baiting us." Lea deduced.

"Alright," Satsuki decided, sheathing her sword. "let's not keep them waiting, then."

"L-lady Satsuki?" Gamagori questioned.

"Gamagori, you stay and oversee things here." She ordered.

"Wait a minute. You know it's probably a trap, right?" asked Lea.

"Satsuki Kiryuin fears nothing." she proclaimed, her voice calm but with an edge of ferocity. "Besides, I find walking into a trap is the best way to find the one who's setting it."

And without another word, Satsuki marched straight into the darkness.

"Wait up!" Lea called, dashing in after her.

As Satsuki waded through the swirling tunnel of darkness, Lea took note of her blue cheeks and subtle wheezing, this was definitely her first time in the Dark Realm, but she kept her eyes toward the end of the tunnel the whole time, her pace not slacking for a second. After about a minute, they were back in the Light Realm and on what appeared to be an overturned aircraft carrier lodged in the middle of a massive reef and standing just a few yards away from them were Xigbar and the petite member Lea saw earlier, who immediately pulled her hood down; she was probably in her early to mid teens with long , curled, blond twin tails, a silver X-shaped patch over left eye, and her right eye was a burning yellow, she was definitely a Seeker.

"Harime?!" Satsuki exclaimed.

"Tee hee, surprised to see me, Lady Satsuki?" the girl called Harime asked in a cutesy, playful tone.

"You know her?" Lea asked.

"She used to work for my mother." Satsuki explained. "She killed my father and tried to kill my little sister several times."

"Well, that's pretty messed up."

"As if!" Xigbar jeered. "Nui's disregard for human life just made her perfect for the organization…way better than you. Still, I was surprised when you teamed up with the goodie goodies."

"You shouldn't be!" Lea shot back. "You know I never liked you guys an' my new friends treat me loads better than you ever did!"

"Oh? I wonder how they'd feel if they knew all the shit you did BEFORE you met Sora."

Lea bared his teeth, but only for a moment.

"Oh ho! Hit a sore spot, did I?"

"Enough!" barked Satsuki. "Why are you people still here?"

"Nui here was homesick an' I wanted to see if Axel was any good with that Keyblade of his. So, I figured we'd just bundle our errands."

"Lemme guess…you left your datapad there on purpose." Lea deduced.

"Yep." Xigbar affirmed. "Hope I didn't make it too obvious. I was hoping Nui an' I could gang bang you, but two against two's fine with me."

"How many Keyblade wielders have you beaten, again?" Lea retorted. "What makes you think you could take me now? Especially after the thrashing Sora gave you!"

"One: you ain't half the keyslinger Sora is." Xigbar replied, "And two…"

Xigbar raised his right hand. For a split second, Lea assumed he was going to summon one of his arrowguns, but no…it was a Keyblade with a flame-shaped tip similar to his, but straighter and more refined. The hand guard was pretty simple; rounded and gray with a pair of small spires on each side.

"After Sora failed his test, the old man took us all to the Keyblade Graveyard and let us pick out Keyblades of our own." Nui Harime explained, summoning one of her own. Hers consisted of a thin violet shaft, a pink, slightly curled hand guard, and a red heart-shaped tooth.

"Wouldn't be much of a 'Keyblade War' if **everyone** didn't have one, right?" Xigbar added. "But that's enough exposition!"

Xigbar waved his Keyblade and Lea's heart jolted at the sight of an orb of hazy, pulsating, dull purple magic coming straight toward his face. He flexed his arm and barely blocked it with the tip of his blade. From the stories Goku had told him, he guessed it was the Poison spell…the perfect spell for a sadist like Xigbar. He caught a brief glimpse of Satsuki parrying Harime, before locking blades with Xigbar. Neither Seeker had their Keyblades for very long, so he wasn't too worried about Satsuki, but he knew what a force to be reckoned with Xigbar was, Keyblade or no. He slammed his foot hard into his former colleague's chin, sending him tumbling back several yards. Xigbar immediately retaliated by sending Lea into the air with Zero Graviga and freezing him with Blizzaga. His icy prison shattered as he landed and he rolled away from a Poison-infused slash before blasting Xigbar overboard with Firaga Burst. He glanced behind him to see Satsuki and Harime slashing and clashing blades in a blur of gray, violet, and red. He crept toward the edge of the ship to see if Xigbar was really down, but four Assassins appeared and plunged their claws into him, holding him firmly in place. He thrashed and cursed under his breath, blood cascading down his arms and back as Xigbar appeared, floating several stories above him. He lifted his Keyblade above his head and a swirling orb of dull purple and neon green blossomed at the tip. It broke into five smaller orbs that sailed down toward Lea, so he shielded himself with Reflega and engulfed himself in flame, melting the Assassins off of him.

* * *

Slowly, Sora opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was in some kind of dispensary; a school infirmary by the looks of it. It was pretty ordinary save for the cabinet full of medicine bottles…all arranged perfectly symmetrically…no doubt Kid's doing. He got out of bed, clutching his grumbling tummy, left the infirmary, and started wandering through the halls…which were surprisingly empty. He made his way to the topmost floor and either by chance or intuition, found a dark wooden door and decided to go inside. The room inside was mostly sky blue and there were actually a few clouds hovering around, but most unusual were the guillotines lined up right in front of the entrance. As soon as Sora set foot under the first one, the blade slid down toward him. He darted forward and one by one the other blades started to fall. He made it to the center of the room where Kid and what he presumed to be Lord Death were waiting for him. Standing next to Lord Death was a slim man of average build with jaw-length red hair in a dark gray suit.

"Good to see you awake my boy!" said Lord Death, waving one of his oversized square hands. He spoke in an aged, but bubbly voice, not unlike King Kai. "Congratulations on taking down Medusa!"

"Thanks…" Sora replied "although that whole ordeal never should've happened. I **was** just gonna show up an' take care of the Heartless an' then be on my way."

"Yes…Medusa always had a knack for complicating people's plans. But luckily, the Heartless activity is practically down to nothing now that she and Arachne are gone."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"Actually, Sora…" Kid interjected. "there is another reason King Kai had you come here. We were going to tell you as soon as you arrived."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"King Kai told us about how you used to struggle with your inner darkness and how recently, you started to get a handle on it." Lord Death explained. "So—with your consent, of course—I'd like to train you to wield it more effectively."

"You can really do that?" asked Sora, containing his excitement as best he could.

"Of course! Not to sound immodest, but a shinigami is just about the best teacher you can have with this subject. So, what do you say?"

"Yeah!" Sora exclaimed. "But, uh…what about those other students? Are they alright?"

"Everyone's fine." Kid replied. "I'm actually going to meet them for our break soon, so it'll just be you and dad for a while."

"Right, shall we get started, Sora?"

"Eeeh, actually, I'm kinda hungry." Sora confessed.

"Good!" Lord Death chuckled. "Hunger is an excellent motivator! Now, if you would…summon your Keyblade."

Sora sighed and summoned the Kingdom Key.

"No…the black one." Lord Death insisted. "The one you killed Medusa with."

In a flash of white light, the red-haired man transformed into weapon resembling a dark gray cross with a silver scythe blade protruding from the left side. Lord Death seized the scythe and cloaked himself in a lucid, dark blue aura.

"Now, show me how you use darkness in battle."

* * *

Whenever there was a day of mandatory combat practice in the organization, Axel prayed he'd be matched against Lexaeus…Saïx…even Xaldin…anyone but Xigbar…but Xemnas paired him up with Xigbar every single time…and each time, Axel ended up in the medical wing for two to three days. Today however, Lea was fighting Xigbar on equal footing. He hadn't been using his Keyblade for very long and mercifully, it didn't seem Xigbar had either. He saw Xigbar charge up another poison blast and took the opportunity to fling his Keyblade into his midsection. Xigbar dropped to one knee as Lea re-summoned his Keyblade. Harime finally broke away from her deadly dance with Satsuki and stood back-to-back with Xigbar as he got to his feet.

"I think that's…enough of a workout, don't you?" she panted.

"Yeah…" Xigbar sighed. "I'm getting too old for this crap."

With that, the two of them wrapped themselves in a sphere of darkness, which quickly dissipated.

"Any idea where they went?" Satsuki inquired, sheathing her sword.

"No clue, but they're probably not in this world anymore." said Lea. "Listen, Satsuki…about what Xigbar said earlier; all the shit I did when I was—"

"—Forget it, Lea." Satsuki responded with a dismissive wave. "What you did in the past doesn't matter. All that matters is what you do now, so don't even think of doubting yourself. Otherwise…you may as well take that Keyblade of yours and run yourself through with it."

"Well, that's a little harsh." Lea scoffed. "But I guess you're right. If I start second-guessing myself I'll probably just get myself killed."

"Or your friends." Satsuki added. "That's why only those with the strongest resolve and the deepest commitment get to fight alongside me."

"That's a good strategy. You gave me the heebie-jeebies when I first saw you, but I can tell you're a real good leader."

Satsuki smiled for the first time inclined her head in something like a bow.

"Well, I'd best get back to the academy. Would you mind making one of those portals for me?"

"Sure thing." said Lea, firing a beam from the tip of his blade that formed into a crimson portal.


	5. Silver Millenium

"Crud…" Kairi hissed, mashing the button for the Invincible's shields. "Crud crud crud!"

Five Nobody starfighters and a writhing tide of Shadows had been chasing her for almost half an hour and she was a terrible shot (especially when the enemy was behind her) so she deactivated the canons and diverted all available power to the shields…which had now taken too much punishment and were gone. The Invincible was a gift from Gohan; it was far more heavily armored than his Highwind Alpha, the original Highwind, or even Sora's Falcon, but she doubted the armor would hold for very long against continuous fire. Her best bet was to try and loose them. Her eyes darted left, right, up, and down, looking for space debris, meteors, asteroids, anything she could lure the enemy into, but saw nothing but open space…and a world! It was a pretty standard world covered mostly in ocean with a few large continents and a decent-sized moon. The moon—Kairi decided—would make a good place to hide without putting any innocent people in danger. She could sense a powerful dark force…no…two powerful dark forces on that moon, but her first concern was getting away from the enemies chasing her now, so she pushed the engines to maximum and sped toward the surface. As she flew, she gazed in awe not at a typical barren moon, but a world with woods, valleys, lakes, and even settlements!

She made a dive into a ravine and sped just a few yards from the ground, her pursuers still on her tail. As the Nobody ships continued the pepper her with plasma, she glanced at the armor meter and saw that it was down to almost half, so she flew into the mouth of a deep cavern. The mouth was just deep enough for the Invincible to fit through, but the Nobody ships all crashed and burst against the wall. She landed in a depression behind a colossal stalagmite and hopped out of the ship, confident that she would be more than capable of meeting the _Demon Tide_ head-on. When she stepped outside of the cavern, there was no sign of any Heartless or Nobodies, but the sky was a mess of black and purple and now that she wasn't being chased, she could see that much of the land was damaged…ravaged in fact…as if it had just seen some kind of battle.

 _Looks like a classic Heartless invasion._ she thought.

Not only that, but one of the dark presences she felt was familiar. She shut her eyes and focused and after a few moments, she recognized it.

 _Luxord!_

He met his end over a year, but he must have been reborn like Xehanort and Lea. Kairi had planned to leave this moon as soon as it was safe, but now that she knew Luxord was here…well…that changed everything. If he was back in the organization, then he was likely responsible for the darkness that covered the land.

* * *

Sailors Mars and Jupiter were a tenacious pair. They leapt about, narrowly evading every spell Luxord sent at them with astonishing grace, considering the impractical attire they wore, and their own fire and lightning-based attacks were no joke either. Realistically, he didn't even need to be fighting, but the game wasn't over until this world was destroyed and he wanted to enjoy it to the fullest…and he had a feeling it was about to get even better, for he sensed a powerful light advancing fast from the rear. Someone was looking for some action…and that _someone_ …was familiar. He looked over his right shoulder and saw Kairi—the Princess of Heart who ended his tenure with the old organization—darting toward him with Keyblade in hand and a look of furious determination on her face. The outfit she wore was similar to the one he last saw her in, but was a slightly cooler hue of pink and featured a black hood with cat ears. He had underestimated her last time, but today would be different. He'd avoid direct combat with her until he'd gotten a better idea of what he was up against. He glanced at Mars and Jupiter catching their breath and smirked.

"You two will make the perfect scapegoats." he said, snapping his fingers.

Four of his Gambler Nobodies appeared behind him as he drew two capture cards from his coat pocket and flung them at the unsuspecting Sailor Guardians, trapping them inside. He warped about a yard away from Kairi as he sensed an incoming attack. She'd made quick work of his Gamblers, just as he anticipated, but the advantage was now his.

"What did you just do?" she demanded.

"Ah, direct and to-the-point! I respect that!" Luxord replied.

He flipped the cards around to show Kairi the illustrations of the terrified Mars and Jupiter.

"Well, as you've no doubt surmised, I've just captured these young ladies and stored them in a sort of 'pocket dimension' within these cards." He explained as eight Dancers, four more Gamblers, two Bookmasters, and twelve Neoshadows appeared around Kairi. "Fight long enough for me to properly evaluate your skills and technique…let's say…seven minutes…and I'll free them. No healing items or I'll tear the cards. I trust you know what'll happen then?"

"Fine." said Kairi. "But when I win, I want some answers too!"

"As you wish."

She plunged her Keyblade into the ground and a geyser of Sparkga magic rose around her, vaporizing the Neoshadows as they sprung toward her...as well as two of the Gamblers. When the geyser dissipated, she leapt toward one of the Bookmasters and tried to slash it, but it zoomed away as its partner zapped her with Thundaga. She cast Reflega as they both fired Blizzaga crystals and both Heartless were trapped in shells of ice by their own reflected spells, but one of the remaining Gamblers took the opportunity to cast _Stop Dice_. It conjured a little purple die and flung it into Kairi's back, transmuting her into a die about the size of a human head. Luxord stifled a chuckle as the transformed Kairi flipped, rolled, and bounced about trying to avoid the Dancers' kicks and the cards the Gamblers cast at her. As soon as the spell wore off however, she cloaked her Keyblade in fire and hacked her way through the Dancers. She cast Reflega again when both Gamblers tried to cast Stop Dice on her and sent her Keyblade spinning toward one, beheading it as its partner flung three razor-sharp cards, grazing her shoulder and cheek and cutting off a few strands of her hair. Her Keyblade reappeared in her hand and she swatted away three more cards and then another three before firing a Blizzaga right into what passed for the Gambler's face.

As ten more Neoshadows surfaced around her, she raised her Keyblade above her head. A searing orb of yellow appeared at the tip and four bolts of lightning snaked out and chained through eight of the Neos, causing them to spasm and burst into useless black mist. Kairi back-flipped away from the remaining two and blasted their heads off with Firaga. Finally, twenty more Neos and ten Dusks appeared and he watched her repeat the same set of tactics. She had a pretty basic fighting style, but an effective one. Physically, she seemed just about on par with him…maybe slightly stronger…maybe slightly weaker. Luxord also had a simple style of fighting; after he chose his Keyblade (thanks to the portion of Master Xehanort's heart dwelling inside him) he studied under Xemnas and practiced Form I, the defensive form. He was so proficient in spell-casting that a more aggressive style like Form II—which most of the seekers seemed to favor—seemed like a waste of energy. Once he was proficient in his chosen form, he moved to Ansem's division for a little schooling in spell-casting. It was similar to the elemental magic that most mages used, which was what he was taught in the organization, so he picked Keyblade magic up very quickly.

Only about three standard months had passed since Sora failed his Mark of Mastery test and all prospective Seekers were deemed ready to wield Keyblades, but as hard as the four Xehanorts had pushed them, that first month may as well have been a year. Each Seeker in training was allowed one meal (any dish they desired) each morning at dawn's first light and the training began thirty minutes afterward and continued until dusk when they were allowed to have one small meal and rest until the next dawn. Ansem and Xemnas' sessions were exhausting, but Teen Xehanort's were almost a nightmare. There were a number of times when he thought he'd die. Xigbar had confessed the same once after training with the elder. Every four days of training were followed by a day of rest and after the first month, the Seekers were all left to their own devices. Luxord, Ansem, and Xemnas had begun testing other candidates to become reserve Seekers. Ansem and Xemnas had been watching theirs since the new organization was founded over a standard year ago. Luxord, however had had his eyes on his candidate since his final year in the old organization. He'd made her heart more susceptible with a little help from Xaldin and now she was the perfect instrument of destruction. Satisfied that Kairi would present a fair challenge to him, he decided it was time to check on her, so he called back his forces and released both Mars and Jupiter.

"Wait!" said Kairi running in front of them as they took aggressive stances toward Luxord. "Okay, Luxord, answers!"

"Of course." Luxord replied. "The organization is still missing one last Seeker, so I've been testing someone in this world as a candidate."

"Yes, and that someone is one of us!" Mars snapped.

"Huh?" Kairi exclaimed.

"This man's been coming to our world and causing trouble for months now!" Jupiter added. "He did something to one of our fellow guardians and now she's on a rampage! Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto already fell trying to stop her!"

"Ah, but young Saturn's role **is** the destruction and rebirth of your world, is it not?" Luxord countered. "Yes, I took control of her…this is true…but I haven't directed her to do **anything** she wouldn't inevitably do of her own volition."

White lightning crackled in Sailor Jupiter's fists while Mars' eyes began to glow an angry crimson.

"The stoic guardian of silence…protected by Saturn, the planet of destruction and gifted with the power to destroy an entire world. Someone like that is more than worthy of being a Seeker of Darkness. Wouldn't you agree, Kairi?"

Kairi simply stared at Luxord at a loss for words and he did not stick around to hear her answer. It was time to see how Sailor Saturn was doing.

* * *

"Wait!" Kair blurted out as Luxord wrapped himself in darkness and vanished. She shivered a little as the darkness in the atmosphere grew ever stronger and turned to the ladies who had just a minute ago been Luxord's hostages.

"Is what he said true...about Saturn…and the whole 'destruction and rebirth' thing?"

"It's true." said the raven-haired woman with fiery eyes. "Sailor Saturn's purpose is the destruction of the Moon Kingdom at the end of the Silver Millennium."

"The silver…millennium?" Kairi questioned.

"It's a thousand years of peace and prosperity for our world." The taller woman with a long brown ponytail explained. "When the darkness took our world over a decade ago, we thought **that** was the end. But Sailor Saturn didn't have anything to do with it."

"Well, whatever the case, I can't let her become a Seeker of Darkness and if she's really as powerful as Luxord said, then I'm gonna need help!"

"Of course, Princess Kairi." said the black-haired woman. "We're with you."

"Princess Serenity is at the palace with Sailors Venus and Mercury." the brown-haired woman informed her. "I think that's where we should go next."

"Lead the way." said Kairi. "And it's just Kairi…by the way."

The black-haired woman introduced herself as "Sailor Mars" and the brown-haired woman introduced herself as "Sailor Jupiter." Their palace was about an hour's walk from their position, so Kairi brought them to the Invincible and flew them there in just a few minutes. Almost every inch of it was a pearly white save for some burned and blackened spots here and there. Looking at it briefly gave her a strong desire to see her homeworld again. As soon as they got out, Princess Serenity rushed out dressed in a slightly tattered white gown. Kairi remembered her from Hollow Bastion; she was the sweetest lady Kairi had ever met and the most beautiful person she'd ever laid eyes on. She was inspired by Serenity's stories of how her guardians helped her to grow stronger as a leader and she moved Serenity with the way she risked being mauled by Shadows to protect the helpless Sora.

"Kairi, I can't believe it's really you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the younger Princess of Heart. "Is Sora with you by any chance?"

"No, it's just me." said Kairi and a shade of disappointment fell over the older princess' face.

"Still…it's so good to see you again." said Serenity, wiping a tear from her eye. "And I see you have a Keyblade now. We may actually have a chance."

"Princess, where are Venus and Mercury?" Sailor Mars inquired.

"They…" Serenity began, lowering her eyes. "Hundreds of Heartless got in the palace…they fought alongside me and met their ends…Prince Endymion too."

As the two guardians embraced their princess, Kairi felt the other dark presence coming closer. She had a feeling it was Sailor Saturn…her power was unlike anything Kairi had ever felt before.

"I hope you all are ready…cause here she comes."

"She's right, we can cry later." said Sailor Mars. "Right now, it's time to fight."

Kairi turned around and saw a girl close to her approaching. She couldn't have been older than Kairi; she was very petite and fair-skinned with glossy jaw-length black hair, wore a uniform similar to Mars' and Jupiter's and clutched a black glaive with a shining silver blade.

"Saturn!" Jupiter shouted. "Your rampage ends here!"

If Saturn heard her, it didn't show. She continued to march, unwavering, her yellow eyes empty of any discernible feeling. Kairi was certain Riku could've gotten through to her, no problem, having been in the thrall of darkness before and overcome it. Surely Sora could've found a way to save her, but Kairi was only a novice Keyblade wielder. Her status as a Princess of Heart made her immune to corruption, but it gave her no power to help someone who was already corrupted. Her heart jolted as Saturn waved her glaive and sent a cluster of dark orbs straight at her. She cast Reflega, and the orbs burst on contact. When darkness was weaponized, **anything** could be hurt by it. Kairi knew then and there, she was going to have to stop looking at Saturn as a girl and start seeing her as the enemy if she was going to survive. She shrouded her blade in Spark magic and hurled it at Saturn, who blocked it with her glaive. That gave Mars and Jupiter an opening to send waves of fire and lightning at her. The two attacks were enough to knock her back, but she was back on her feet in an instant. She plunged the blade of her glaive into the ground and geysers of dark energy began popping up and heading right for the four defenders. Serenity dashed in front of Kairi, Mars, and Jupiter and unleashed a ray of golden light to blow the dark geysers away. The light also caused Saturn to drop her glaive and fall to her knees, allowing Kairi to blindside her with another Spark Raid. She was about to deal a finishing blow when Sailor Mars shouted "Heartless!"

Kairi looked up and saw dozens of Invisibles, Angel Stars, Flame Cores, Bit Snipers, and Flutterings descending from the dark storm above them. Before she could decide on what action to take, Saturn was back on her feet and all over her. Each strike Kairi parried made her arms tremble and any minute now, she felt like they were going to snap! She dove away from a darkness-infused slash from Saturn and a crescent-shaped wave of dark energy flew toward Mars. The instant the dark wave touched her, she was reduced to ash and black vapor before Kairi's eyes. The shock was so great, that Kairi was defenseless against Saturn's next attack. She was thrown high into the air by a dark maelstrom and knocked about by dark and light projectiles from the Invisibles and Angel Stars. She landed on the ground with a painful smack and for a few moments the world around her was spinning. When she found the strength to lift her head, she saw that Jupiter was lying dead on the ground with a ghastly hole in her chest and Serenity was sending volley after volley of searing pink and gold orbs at the incoming Flutterings and Bit Snipers, vaporizing them, but just as Kairi was struggling to get to her feet, the Flame cores all opened their maws and spewed missiles of orange and crimson flame. The ensuing explosion sent Kairi tumbling back and she could feel her shoulder cracking. Battling the pain, she grabbed her Keyblade, plunged it into the ground for support, and forced herself upward. The entire front of the palace was nothing but rubble and the only living souls were herself and Saturn, who had splotches of blood on her left cheek, knees, and forehead…and tears streaming down her face. She limped toward Kairi and stopped a few feet away from her, raising her glaive. Kairi's blood felt like ice and her heart felt like it was being choked.

"S-Sa…turn…please…" Kairi breathed, her arms trembling as she clutched her Keyblade.

"Your name's…K-Kairi…right?" Saturn asked in a meek and heart-wrenchingly sweet voice.

A smile slowly formed on the harbinger of death and destruction's face…it wasn't a happy smile…nor was it a malevolent smile…there was heartache…but also…hope in it.

"I'm s-so…sorry…but…I…c-can't…"

She thrust her blade deep into the ground and the whole world began to quake, knocking Kairi to the ground again. One by one, she could see the remaining Heartless vanishing as titanic pillars of fire erupted all around the palace. There was a blinding flash…a deafening boom…and then only blackness. For a minute Kairi was certain she had to be dead, but when she opened her eyes, she saw no clouds or pearly gates, but a veil of pale golden light. She lifted her head to see that her body, though still wounded, was intact. She got up and realized that she was on a mass of land about the size of her house…floating in space just above the planet that the Moon Kingdom had been orbiting. The land mass was encased in a giant transparent golden octahedron and floating above her head were ten shining hearts. She knew immediately who they belonged to.

"Death and rebirth…I get it."

The hearts of Princess Serenity, the fallen Prince, and all of the fallen Sailor Guardians immediately flew toward the planet below do be reborn and Kairi glanced to her right to see the Invincible, a bit beaten up, but still—hopefully—in working condition. A whole storm of emotions was raging inside her right now and she had enough for today. She hopped inside and plotted a course for home.


	6. The Hell Girl

It was another disappointing day. Riku had spent almost five hours searching the Dark Realm for any sign of Aqua and found nothing save for the occasional Heartless. After calling it quits, he decided to head to the mansion in Twilight Town to see how Ai was doing. He headed up to the room that used to be Namine's, where he usually found her but she wasn't there. So, he headed down to the basement and found her huddled in a corner dressed in a tattered black sailor fuku, crimson tears running down her cheeks. Her blood-red eyes had none of the cold clinicality he saw in them the first time they met or the veiled determination he saw in them the second time they met. They were glassy and full of pain.

"What happened?"

"I went back to Hell…" Ai replied, her voice trembling somewhat. "I tried to fight my old master."

"And he did… _that_ to you?" Riku asked indicating the cuts, punctures, and burns all over her.

"I wounded him…" Ai began to explain. "I told him I would stop if he…if he released my mother and father…but he got angry…very angry…he transformed into one of those creatures you call 'Heartless.' I wanted to keep fighting…but he kept summoning more Heartless and…"

"Say no more, Ai." said Riku, handing her an elixir. "Drink that and meet me outside when you're ready."

Ai guzzled the elixir without another as Riku headed out to the front gates. A couple minutes later, Ai came out to join him, her injuries healed and her tears all dried.

"Ready to give this another try?"

As soon as he asked that, the fire came back into her eyes.

"No, I am ready…to win!"

Riku folded his arms and allowed himself a smile.

"Then take us there."

Ai nodded and tore open a swirling black portal.

"Once we do this, there's not going back." said Riku. "It's victory…or oblivion."

"I am ready."

Ai marched straight into the darkness and Riku followed. When they emerged, they were surrounded by thick writhing fog and the air was frigid. Riku cast Aeroga, blowing some of the fog away. Before them was a sea of still, black water.

"That is where we must—"

Before Ai could finish, five Neoshadows and ten Flame Cores appeared, surrounding both of them.

"He knows we are here!" she warned.

"Keep it together." said Riku, summoning his Keyblade. "We can take em'."

Ai blew the Flame Cores away with a blast of dark energy, while Riku turned the Neos into Heartless cutlets in the blink of an eye. As soon as this wave was finished however, five more Neos and ten Water Cores appeared. Riku's Keyblade became coated in frost and he released it, sending it spinning wildly through the air, freezing ever Water Core it touched while Ai surrounded the two of them in a ring of fire to keep the Neos from closing in. Once by one, the Water Cores fell to the ground and shattered like glass sculptures and as soon as the last one was dispatched, Ai dispersed her fire, dousing the Neos in it. They had about five seconds of relief before five more Neos and ten Darkballs appeared.

"Get back, Riku." Ai instructed.

Riku leapt back several feet and Ai unleashed a mighty torrent of wind, sending the third wave of Heartless tumbling helplessly into the sea. They waited a few moments for another wave to appear and when it didn't, Ai treaded to the shore and picked up what appeared to be a wooden oar.

"We need a boat to cross." she said.

"I've got it…"

Riku began firing Blizzaga crystals into the shallows and they all melded together forming a sort of makeshift raft.

"Pretty inventive, huh?" Riku asked in an attempt to keep Ai's spirits up.

"Good work." said Ai with a faint smile. "I'll row while you watch for Heartless."

Riku nodded and carefully stepped on the raft, followed by Ai, who began rowing at a steady pace.

"I bet it feels good to be calling the shots for a change, huh?" Riku asked just to keep the conversation going.

"Calling…the shots?" Ai repeated in a questioning tone.

"Yeah." said Riku, glancing at Ai. "You know, being in charge for once."

Ai kept rowing, her eyes fixed on the horizon. Her face calm, yet determined.

"Not particularly." she replied. "I just want to release my mother and father so they can be at peace."

"Can't blame you there." said Riku, scanning for Heartless all around them. "So, how long have you been at it…the whole 'Ferry to Hell' business?"

"A long time." answered Ai. "I assure you, it was not by choice."

"I see…" said Riku. "Well, I'm sure it's not something you wanna—"

"I used to be an ordinary girl." Ai continued, determined to get it off her chest. "I was chosen to be sacrificed to our village's mountain deity. My parents and my cousin did their best to protect me…to keep me hidden…but the others found me. I cursed them with my dying breath and my hatred was strong enough to keep my spirit intact even though my body had perished. I rose from my grave, destroyed the village, and all of the villagers."

Riku gulped silently, not wanting to believe what he was hearing, but seeing the truth of it all over Ai's face.

"Soon after that, the Lord of Hell found me and forced me to into this business. When someone in our world has a grievance or grudge, they reach out to me and I take their enemies here."

Riku racked his brain for a minute for something comforting to say, but let it go when he spied three Invisibles soaring down toward them from the rear. He shrouded his Keyblade in flame and sent flying toward the middle one like a missile, incinerating it. Before the other two could react, he willed his Keyblade to spin around, shredding and scorching them into nothing.

"We have nearly reached the other side." said Ai.

Riku turned in the direction Ai had been rowing and saw that they were indeed reaching land. After another minute, Riku leapt from the raft and Ai levitated a few feet into the air moments before the raft crashed into the rocky shore. Riku scanned their surroundings looking for any Heartless, but saw only fog and a few dead trees.

"Wait, Riku." said Ai as Riku was about to head out.

She pointed to a hill about half a mile northwest from them.

"There is something I want you to do. Follow me."

Riku obeyed and Ai led him to the hill. At the top was a small stone well—barely big enough for a child to fit through—with a black stone seal over the mouth.

"Every innocent soul I've ever brought to Hell…the master instructed me to put them all in there. Please unseal it for me."

"Of course." said Riku, pointing the tip of his Keyblade at the seal.

A thin white beam shot from the tip and into the seal, causing it to crumble and in an instant, hundreds of fist-sized white orbs shot out of the well and continued up into the sky.

"Is that all of them?" asked Riku.

"Yes." Ai replied, genuinely smiling now. "I remember them…every one of them…they're free now."

"What about your parents?"

"The master has them." said Ai, her smile not fading. "But we'll get them back soon."

"Maybe sooner than you think." said Riku, indicating a pair of dusky yellow eyes watching them from the wall of fog in the distance.

"He must have been alerted by all the freed souls." Ai concluded, her voice lowering to a more grim tone.

The eyes immediately zoomed to the right and disappeared among a clump of dead trees. Ai raised a hand and cast a nebulous missile of azure and indigo flame that set the trees ablaze. At that instant, the fiend that the eyes belonged to appeared before Riku and Ai; It wore a tattered black robe and a matching black mitre, had a heart-shaped opening all the way through its torso, chains dangling from its legless lower body, and a bone-white staff with a jet-black adornment vaguely resembling the heartless emblem at the top and two tiny flickering white orbs were revolving around it. He silently dubbed this new Heartless "the Lich."

"Do you remember me, Master?" Ai asked in a derisive growl.

The Lich's cadaverous face betrayed nothing, but its eyes began to burn a vibrant orange. It waved its staff and a glowing green pentagram large enough to encircle Sora's beach shack appeared above its head. Another ball of blue flame blossomed in each of Ai's hands and Riku adopted a classic Form II Stance as something enormous, black, and shapeless shot out of the pentagram. Ai flew back and hurled her fire balls at the entity as Riku cast Protega, cloaking himself in protective light. The entity spasmed as a dozen or so Shadows tumbled out of it like dagger crabs falling out of a paopu tree. Before it could recover, Riku froze it with another Freeze Raid and it fell to the ground, shattering like the ugliest ice sculpture. Hazy black tendrils burst out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Ai but before Riku could attempt to free her, an Invisible, two Flame Cores, three Bit Snipers, and three Flutterings appeared, only to be burned to ashes by a wave of hellfire from Ai, who had burned away the dark tendrils binding her.

"No you don't!" Riku shouted as he spotted the Lich gliding away.

He shot a writing bolt of pale yellow lightning at it, then another, then another, and finally, countless little electric bolts danced along his blade and he sent it spinning toward his target so fast that it looked like a disk of pure lightning. The Lich's ghostly black form lit up a brilliant yellow and it collapsed to the ground in a heap. The two white orbs orbiting the Lich's staff floated away from it and it raised one bony hand, reaching out toward them. Riku zipped in front of the orbs, Keyblade at the Ready, and cast Reflega, blocking the torrent of dark energy the Lich unleashed. Riku began sliding back and cracks began to form in the center of his shield, allowing a few wisps of darkness to seep through. The dark torrent dissipated however as the Lich was set alight by Ai's fire. Riku darted toward the defeated Heartless and sent its head rolling across the moist, rocky ground with one clean swipe of his blade. The Lich dissolved into harmless black vapor and the two orbs swooped around Ai as if acknowledging her before taking to the sky and vanishing.

"Ai!" Riku gasped as pure white flames began eating away at her feet and slowly worked their way upward.

Ai said nothing but looked at Riku with a smile and tears streaming down her face, her blood-red eyes now a rich chestnut brown. Her body was completely engulfed in purifying white flame and when it cleared, there was no Ai…only a single crimson butterfly which fluttered around Riku and took off into the sky.


	7. UA

Luxord stepped through his portal and found Master Xehanort sitting in the balcony of the auditorium with Ansem seated just to his left. On the stage below was a pair of vampires—high-ranking by the looks of them—but not progenitors. They were a mess, their usually pale faces almost red and their eyes bloodshot from fatigue as they batted away orbs of light from six Angel Stars and parried the strikes of four Samurai Nobodies. One managed to slice a Samurai's arms off, but got a hole blasted right through him by an Angel Star and his mate fell to his knees when a sharp blow from another Samurai knocked his sword out of his hands. The three remaining Samurai pointed their swords at his throat, but rather than surrender, he grabbed one of the blades with both of his blood-stained gloved hands and shoved it into his heart.

"Prideful lot, aren't they?" he remarked.

"Yes…" Master Xehanort replied, taking a sip from the goblet he held.

Luxord stood against a column with his arms folded and watched as the Angel Stars vanished and the Samurai carried the bodies away through portals. A small portal opened next to Ansem and a Creeper slipped out and hissed something in his ear. He nodded and it withdrew back into its portal, which promptly closed.

"Despite having presumably not a shred of humanity in them, they all seem very loyal to their way of life…and to their very human emotions. Ironic, given all the scorn they give humanity, don't you think?" asked Master Xehanort.

"Especially since some of them were apparently once human themselves." Luxord replied, thinking back to his early days in the old organization. "Of course, as a Nobody, I retained certain human traits such as my passion for gambling. But my first taste of real emotion came from my duel with young Kairi…who, by the way, I met again not too long ago while testing my candidate. She has improved considerably since our first encounter."

"And the young Sailor Guardian…did she prove a worthy candidate?" Ansem asked.

"She did not." Luxord recounted. "In the end, she fulfilled her destined role and brought an end to her world…but destroyed herself along with it. However, her heart and soul survived to be reincarnated with the rest of the guardians."

"I see…" said Master Xehanort, smiling. "In that regard, she's not dissimilar to us. Those who condemn our actions forget that creation and destruction go hand-in-hand."

"And with the power of Kingdom Hearts, we will know all that there is to know about both."

Luxord turned his head to see Xemnas stroll into the auditorium and take a seat to the right of Master Xehanort.

"And how is your candidate faring, Xemnas?" Luxord inquired.

"Satisfactorily." Xemnas replied. "His desire to be a part of something greater than himself and his detachment from his basic human needs make him a perfect fit psychologically…however his physiology is what concerns me."

"I am having the opposite problem with my candidates." said Ansem. "Their bodies are more than capable of bearing the darkness," he then turned to Master Xehanort "but I suspect they are too attached to themselves to allow your heart to meld with theirs."

"Should they fail, you know what must be done."

"Yes, Master." Ansem said as he stood up. "I will be returning to their world shortly to give them one final test."

He then turned to his counterpart.

"One of the Creepers you lent me tells me a suitable target just arrived."

"Very good." said Xemnas. "You may make whatever use of them you see fit."

Ansem nodded and shrouded himself in a sphere of darkness, which promptly dissipated.

* * *

Shota Aizawa was in over his head yet again. Normally the little black imps like the bunch that surrounded him now were a nuisance, but their numbers had skyrocketed since the U.S.J incident and he was on his own while the other pros were dealing with influxes elsewhere and with **All Might** still recovering from the fight with **All For One** , every capable fighter was needed in the streets. His knife was adequate against a few of them, and his capturing cloth was practically useless. Even worse were the little gray phantoms that now accompanied the black creatures, they were a bit more durable and noticeably smarter as they evaded his attacks and let their counterparts take hits for them. He was just about to retreat when a flash of golden light reduced a good chunk of the black things to vapor. A boy in his mid teens now stood between him and the horde. He had spiky brown hair and a lean build and wore a black and silver uniform. The black imps and the gray phantoms all vanished at the sight of him. He turned around so Aizawa could see his face. His blue eyes had the innocence of a child, but everything about his body language screamed "warrior."

"You okay?" the kid asked.

"I think I'm good." said Aizawa, wiping his forehead with his cloth. "Thanks, kid."

"Have those monsters been a problem around here before?"

"No, but that changed after the villain attack at the U.S.J. Listen, if you're looking to enroll in UA, you're gonna have to wait. Things are still a little hectic around here."

"No, I'm done with school." the kid replied "I was just sent here to take care of the monsters."

"Sent…" Aizawa repeated "You a pro?"

"Pretty much."

"I see…well, if you wanna help, you could keep an eye on the students. Leave the monsters to us. If we can just get their numbers down to where they used to be, I think it'll be safe for us to meet and plan our next move."

"Like finding the ones controlling the monsters?"

"I…uh…never thought about that." said Aizawa, a little shaken by how specific that question was. "But yeah, now that you mention it…the way those things work, it would make sense if someone were directing them now. You have any clue who it could be?"

"Maybe." the Kid said. But to Aizawa, the kid may as well have been an open book. He definitely knew something. "But I think I'll go see those students first. That great big H-shaped building is the school, right?"

"Yeah, but—hey, wait!" Aizawa shouted, but the kid was already leaping up and across buildings.

"Who the heck is that kid?" he muttered.

He could have pursued him, but the monster situation had to be dealt with first and his peers probably needed his help right now.

* * *

Izuku Midoriya led his team, which consisted of the sweet, bubbly Ochako Uraraka, and the strapping and studious Tenya Iida toward UA. Everyone was still home for Summer Break, but the strange creatures plaguing the city had been sighted on the school grounds more than once. Thus he volunteered to patrol the school and Uraraka and Iida insisted on joining him. He welcomed Iida's help, but the thought of Uraraka being anywhere near the creatures terrified him. Compared to the Nomus, these new creatures weren't much of a threat, individually or in small groups. But their numbers were reportedly going up each day. He'd seen footage of one of the things tearing a woman's heart from her chest and transmuting it into an identical creature. That was how the things multiplied…and it chilled him to the core to think that that could happen to Uraraka. He wasn't sure he'd have the heart to fight her, even as a monster.

"Hey, Deku."

"Eh?" he whimpered, turning to face Uraraka.

"What's the matter?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"You have that look again. That look that you always have when something's bothering you. We all know it pretty well by now, you know?"

"Oh…uh…I just…I…"

Izuku struggled to find an answer. He didn't want to lie to Uraraka's face, but he also didn't want her to think that he didn't believe she could take care of herself.

"It's alright, Midoriya." said Iida. "You're obviously just concerned for our safety. There's no shame in that, but I assure you we are more than capable of handling those things."

"Yeah! As long as we stick together, those things can't touch us!" Uraraka added.

"Besides…" Iida continued. "I just got a text from Mr. Aizawa."

"Oh, what's it say?" Izuku asked.

"It says 'Pro hero heading for school. Brown hair, silver and black uniform.' Sounds like we're going to get some help."

"Brown hair and a silver and black uniform…" Izuku repeated. "Doesn't sound like any hero I know, but if Aizawa says he's a pro..."

"Look over there!" said Uraraka as they strode through the front gate.

She pointed to the right at a boy close to Izuku's height walking through the front doors. He had spiky brown hair, not unlike Izuku's and his clothes were silver and black.

"C'mon!" said Izuku, jogging toward the doors with Uraraka and Iida not far behind.

* * *

As Sora expected, the school looked completely free of students when he entered. It certainly felt like summer when he set foot on this world, but he would make certain before returning to the streets. He turned back around at the sound of the doors swinging open again and saw a most peculiar trio walking toward him. The tallest one wore a dark blue bodysuit and immaculate white armor with a pronged helmet that covered all but his eyes, giving him the appearance of a mechanized samurai, and what appeared to be tail pipes protruding from his back. The girl had almost shoulder-length brown hair, wide brown eyes, and wore a black and white bodysuit with a white space helmet, white gloves and boots and lightweight white armor that barely concealed her curvaceous figure. The boy that the two of them flanked had spiky, unkempt black hair with a greenish tint. He was about the same height and build as Sora and wore a mint-green jumpsuit with white shoulder pads, white elbow-length gloves, a red utility belt, black and brown boots, and a metal rebreather mask over his mouth.

"Are you that pro hero Mr. Aizawa said was coming?" the boy in green asked.

"Yep. But call me Sora."

"Okay, so, what's your quirk?"

"My quirk?" Sora asked, dumbfounded. "Well, I've been told I'm a little spacey sometimes. I USED to be a little awkward around people but—"

"No, I mean 'what's your power?'"

"Oooh." Sora replied.

They didn't need to know about the Keyblade, but he could at least let them see _some_ of his power. He wished he could put his darkness training with Lord Death to the test, but he picked the power that he knew was most effective against the Heartless.

"I have light powers." he explained, conjuring a little orb of pale yellow light above his palm. "I can throw projectiles and even make a sword with them."

"So you're a photokinetic." the boy in green concluded with a bright-eyed smile. "That's pretty cool."

"And very useful against those creatures." the armored boy added. "They allegedly can't stand light-energy."

"I call them Heartless." said Sora. "So, are you guys students here?"

"Yeah." said the boy in green. "We volunteered to patrol the school. Is that why you're here?"

"Well, one of your teachers asked me to keep an eye on the students, but it doesn't seem like there are any here right now. Is it summer break?"

"That's right. After what happened with **All For One** , I'm not sure how many of them will be coming back, to be honest."

Sora simply nodded, pretending to know what he was talking about.

"A-any way…we're pretty decent fighters, so would you mind if we tagged along with you?"

"Not at all." said Sora. "I usually work alone these days, but I think I'm at my best when I have a team with me."

"A luxury I doubt you'll have much longer." said a familiar voice.

Sora whirled around to see the false Ansem step out from the shadows dressed in an organization coat.

"What are YOU doing here?" Sora growled.

"I am doing what you should be doing." Ansem replied. "I am making sure we have every advantage we need for the final clash. Three of the criminal **All For One's** minions are being tested and are waiting for you in the city. You will fight them…now."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I have instructed them to use the dark powers I gave them to attack this city and its citizens. The number of Heartless will also increase exponentially. Agree to my terms and I'll order them to stand down and wait for your arrival."

"Fine." Sora spat.

"A wise choice. You may allow those three to accompany you if you wish." said Ansem, nodding toward the three students behind him. "It makes no difference to me. The fight will take place in the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park; I suggest you make haste."

Having laid out his demands, Ansem wrapped himself in darkness and vanished. Sora immediately turned to face the three heroes in training and asked "Do any of you know where that is?"

"I do!" said the boy in green. "Please let us accompany you! We've fought **All For One's** people before!"

"Okay, lead the way." said Sora. The sight of Ansem still made his blood boil and he knew he shouldn't be fighting this world's villains, but if these students really had fought them before, they could be really helpful. And he couldn't deny it felt good to be in charge for a change. As the boy in green led the team outside, he introduced himself as "Deku." The girl introduced herself as "Uravity" and the armored boy introduced himself simply as "Iida." They jogged through the city's streets and just as they came to an intersection, two Wyverns and a Defender appeared. Thankfully, there weren't a lot of cars in this part of town and what pedestrians there were got out of the way pretty quickly.

"You guys wanna take these?" Sora asked.

"Yeah!" Deku and Uravity said together.

Iida rocketed up toward one of the Wyverns, grabbed it by the tail, and threw it to Deku, who sent it flying into the other with a single uppercut while Uravity rolled under the Defender's swinging shield and merely touched its back. The Defender dropped its shield and began floating up toward the sky, rolling and tumbling the whole way. Just as the two Wyverns were getting up, Deku grabbed them by their heads and smashed them into each other. The now dead Wyverns quickly evaporated into harmless black mist.

"So you're strong, you're fast AND strong, and you have gravity powers." Sora concluded, addressing Deku, Iida, and Uravity respectively.

"That's right." said Uravity, picking up the Defender's fallen shield. "My quirk has a few side effects, which is what my equipment is for. I also picked up hand-to-hand combat after the Sports Festival…saved my life at the Quirk Training Camp…"

"Incoming!" Iida shouted.

A car came hurting toward the four heroes and they all jumped, dashed, or rolled out of the way. A massive, armored brown Heartless with enormous pauldrons was lumbering toward them brandishing an axe large enough for two men to carry.

"Yeeeah, don't think hand-to-hand's really an option here." Uravity whimpered in a half-scared, half-deadpan tone that immediately made Sora think of Krillin.

"I got this." said Sora, summoning the Oathkeeper.

He darted toward the Heartless (which he silently dubbed _Metal Troll_ ) and cast Reflega just as it brought its axe down. The force of the deflected blow caused the thing's arm to jerk back and drop the axe and as soon as Reflega wore off, Sora jumped on its shoulder and blew its head off with Explosion. He hopped off its shoulder just before its body hit the ground and dissolved into black mist.

"Nice moves." said Deku. "Now it makes sense why Aizawa sent you."

"I agree." said Iida "But I'm curious about that man in the coat. I got the impression that he knew you, Sora."

"He goes by Ansem and he's one of MY villains." Sora explained "That's all I can tell you about him."

"Understood."

"But what about **All For One's** minions?" Deku persisted. "He mentioned testing them. You think he's going to recruit them?"

"Something like that." Sora answered. "But don't worry about that. Let's just get over there. Lead on."

Deku nodded and kept running toward the city limits with Sora, Uravity, and Iida right behind him. When they reached the beach, they found three individuals waiting for them; the first was a girl with ash blond hair dressed in a sand-colored sweater with a blue and red sailor's collar, a blue pleated skirt, dark gray knee-socks, and dull brown loafers. The second was a male of average height and clad in a black bodysuit with a gray T-shaped stripe on the chest and a W-shaped stripe across the lower torso and thighs. His face was hidden by a mask that was gray at the top and black from the nose down. The third was a behemoth of a man with tufts of blond hair, a scarred face, and what appeared to be a prosthetic eye dressed in a red tank top, dark gray pants, and black boots. And of course, all three of them were shrouded in lucid black auras and had burning yellow eyes.

"So, we just beat you three and Ansem calls of the Heartless, right?" Sora asked, without preamble.

"Forget the Heartless, Kid. We're the ones you should be scared of." The big guy declared, flexing his muscles.

"I doubt any hero worth his spandex would be scared of you." Sora taunted, pointing the Oathkeeper at his face.

The big guy barred his teeth and his aura flared a bit.

"Tell that to all the pros I've killed."

Sora glanced at Deku, who's teeth were also barred. His fists were also shaking, he definitely recognized this guy."

"Uravity, you take Crazy-Eyes." Sora ordered, indicating the blond girl. "Iida, you take Discount Deadpool over there."

"Who you calling _Discount Deadpool_ , Hot Topic Poster-Boy?!" The masked man shouted, shaking his fist.

"Deku, you and I'll take the big guy."

The blond girl adopted a fighting stance and conjured what looked like a great-sword made of black and purple energy, the masked man levitated a few feet above the ground and surrounded himself in a spinning cage of dark purple energy beams, and the big guy simply lunged. Sora dove to the right and Deku dove to the left as the big guy's fist met the ground, creating a small tremor. What looked like muscle tissue started stretching out of his skin, wrapping around his arms, shoulders, and neck. Sora felt sorely tempted to bring him to his knees with Graviga, but—determined not to blow his cover—cast Sparkga instead. Three rings of golden light flew from the Oathkeeper's tip and right into the big guy's eyes, causing him to roar in pain. Deku tried to take advantage of this by showering him in punches, but he knocked the young hero back several feet with a furious backhand. Sora glanced toward the shore and saw that Uravity was barely fending off the blond girl's slashes with the Defender's shield while Iida was zipping left and right, dodging the masked man's dark lasers unable to get near him. Worse yet, the big guy was after Deku now. Being blinded didn't seem to deter him at all. This just wouldn't do; he needed to level the playing field without arousing suspicion and he thought he knew one surefire way.

* * *

Ochako Uraraka leapt and rolled away from Toga's slashes, sweating bullets. She was in far better shape than the average girl thanks to Gunhead's training, but still not an athlete at heart and the shield she took from that Heartless creature had been vaporized. Toga, however seemed to be overflowing with energy, swishing and whirling her sword like someone straight out of a hack and slash game. Gunhead taught her to deal with an opponent wielding a knife, but not a sword, and certainly not a sword made of dark energy! She bent backward just in time to avoid a surprise aerial kick, but Toga's dark aura flared, sending her tumbling back and into the shallows. She was about to go in for a killing blow when she unexpectedly hit the ground. Ochako had no idea what was the matter with her, but didn't question it. She slapped her hands onto the wet sand and used her quirk to lift it and bring it crashing down on the confused Toga just as she was getting to her feet. It was enough to make her fall on her butt so Ochako could finish her with a flying kick to the face.

* * *

Tenya Iida's frustration was increasing. The masked man—who he recognized as the villain, Twice—wouldn't let him get near him; he just hovered around shooting beams of dark energy from the four dark spheres orbiting him. And every time Iida tried to move closer, the spheres spun faster and faster around him and beams would emit from the bottoms, forming a nigh-impenetrable beam-shield!

"Submit…..submit…SUBMIT!" he kept yelling. "Man, the way he says that is just too cool!"

Suddenly, Twice clutched his side and tumbled to the ground as his shield dissipated.

"Ugh! Who did that?!" he growled.

Tenya didn't waste time pondering what unseen force hit him, he just boosted toward him and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying and leaving a shallow trench in the sand. He looked to his right, wondering if it might have been Sora's doing and saw that he was all over the villain Muscular, striking him from all sides with his sword and blocking his dark energy-enhanced punches with some kind of spherical light-shield. He considered himself very knowledgeable and was usually well-informed, but he'd never heard of this fellow before. He looked to be around Midoriya's age, but here he was holding his own—no—more than holding his own against one of the most dangerous villains in the city! A particularly powerful blow from Sora's sword sent Muscular flying back into Toga and Twice, prompting agonized groans from all three of them.

"I can take it from here, guys!" said Sora.

"But…" Midoriya began.

"Midoriya, he's right! We aren't equipped to fight these villains! Let's head back to the school!"

Midoriya spared a quick glance at the villains getting to their feet and then nodded to Tenya. The two of them bolted back toward the city with Uraraka not far behind. They were just exiting the beach park when he heard a familiar voice call his name. Todoroki ran out of a nearby alley dressed in his hero uniform with Bakugo right behind him dressed in his casual clothes.

"What are you two doing out here?" he inquired.

"Same as you, I expect." Todoroki replied.

A brilliant flash of gold light back at Dagobah caught their attention.

"What's going on over there?" Bakugo grumbled.

"The villains Muscular, Twice, and Toga are back." Tenya explained. "A pro hero called Sora is dealing with them as we speak."

"Is that right?" said Todoroki and Tenya knew right away what he was thinking. Tenya sighed, knowing full-well he couldn't stop them.

"Be careful!" Midoriya warned. "They've all gained umbrakinetic powers!"

"Right. Do whatever Sora says. Should your actions reflect poorly on UA, I will not forgive you."

"We know the drill." Todoroki assured them."

Bakugo simply nodded and the two of them took off toward Dagobah.

"Ever since the training camp…" Tenya rumbled. "everyone's started losing their minds."

* * *

Sora had brought the big guy to his knees with Thundaga and sent him crashing face-first into the sand with Graviga. The masked man and the blond girl were still upon him, however. He parried the girl's relentless slashes and reflected the masked man's dark lasers back at him with a perfectly timed Reflega.

"You're such a cutie." the girl said with a toothy grin. " But you'd be even cuter if you bled a little. Tee hee, I wish I could take you home and—"

Before she could finish whatever perverted thought she was thinking, a stream of gold and orange flame hit her dead-center, knocking her back. Next thing Sora knew, he was flanked by two boys. The first wore a blue uniform with white boots and had white and red hair with long bangs and a patch of scars over his left eye. The second had spiky straw-colored hair and wore a black muscle shirt and baggy blue jeans.

"Even a pro shouldn't be taking three villains at once." said the scarred boy.

The big guy finally clawed his way out of the sand and roared with fury as a swirling pillar of dark energy engulfed him and his darkness called five Wyverns, four Defenders, and two Darkballs.

"Leave the big guy to me." Sora instructed. "You two just keep THEM off my back."

"Bakugo's more than capable of handling them. I'll help you out with Muscular." The scarred boy insisted.

"Like Hell!" the boy called Bakugo snarled. "I came here to kick some villain ass, not these scrubs!"

The guy called Muscular opened his mouth and spewed a missile of black and indigo flame at Bakugo, which Sora shielded him from with Reflega.

"Bakugo!" the scarred boy cried.

When the smoke cleared, Bakugo was in shock, but completely unharmed.

"Both of you, take out those monsters before they get into your city!" Sora barked.

"Bakugo, he's right!" said the scarred boy. "The others probably have their hands full and if those monsters kill someone, that's on us!"

Bakugo, still a little shaken looked from Sora to his peer and sighed.

"Alright…I get it."

With that, the two of them rushed past Muscular to intercept the approaching Heartless. He tried grabbing the scarred boy, but he waved his hand and a spire of ice shot out of the ground, skewering the villain's hand. Before he could attempt to pull it free, Sora flung the Oathkeeper into his knee. With another furious roar, he raised his free hand and sent a torrent of darkness right at Sora, who shielded himself with another Reflega. The force was enough to send him sliding back a few feet, but the dark torrent started thinning and thinning until only a few wisps of darkness were pouring out of the weakened villain's hand. Just as he ripped his hand free from the icy skewer, he clutched his chest and groaned as a black orb with a red and magenta core flew out of his chest. Identical orbs rose from Muscular's unconscious colleagues, they must have been portions of Master Xehanort's heart! Sora tried blasting them with a Thundaga Shot, but they flew into a dark portal before he could even lift his Keyblade.

"No…come back!" Muscular shouted running toward the portal.

But the portal shrunk into nothing before he could reach it.

"COME BACK!" he roared beating his fists against the sand.

After huffing for a few moments, he rose to his feet and gave him a look that would have terrified him two years ago. Before he could take so much as a step toward Sora however, he was encased in a shell of ice that started at his feet and went all the way up to his mouth.

"The police are on their way." the scarred boy said, strolling past the frozen villain.

"That's my cue, then." said Sora.

He waved the Oathkeeper and cast Stopza and with his last remaining bit of magic, blasted open a portal to King Kai's place.

* * *

Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugo stared dumfounded at the spot where Sora had been standing moments ago. There wasn't a trace of him now.

"There was….a guy standing right in front of us a second ago, right?" Bakugo asked.

A few seconds later, armored vehicles pulled up and cops began pouring out to claim the defeated villains while Aizawa and Kayama kept the media hounds at bay.

"Come on." said Shoto. "Aizawa's gonna want to hear about this."


End file.
